A 



HISTORY OF EDUCATION 



STATE OF OHIO. 



st^^ 




j^ c:hii^t:ei<ti<txj^il. •voXiTjaycE. 



PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 



COLUMBUS, OHIO. 

1876. 






THE GAZETTE PRINTING HOUSE. 



/ 






PREFACE. 



At the annual meeting of the Ohio Teachers' Association, 
in July, 1875, it was resolved that a complete historical 
record of educational effort and progress in Ohio should form 
a part of the representation of the educational interests of 
the State at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. 
This recommendation was approved by the State Board of 
Centennial Managers, and the Centennial Committee of the 
Ohio Teachers' Association was entrusted with the prepara- 
tion and publication of the proposed volume. 

At a meeting of this Committee, held in the office of the 
State Commissioner of Common Schools, October 1st and 2d, 
1875, E. E. White, of Columbus, and Thos. W. Harvey, of 
Painesville, were appointed general editors. The prepara- 
tion of the several chapters was subsequently assigned to 
different persons, as follows : 

School Legislation — Eli T. Tappan, Professor of Mathe- 
matics in Kenyon College, Gambler. 

Ungkaded Schools — Alston Ellis, Superintendent of 
Public Schools, Hamilton. 

Graded Schools — R. W. Stevenson, Superintendent of 
Public Schools, Columbus. 

High Schools and Academies — D. F. DeWolf, Super- 
intendent of Public Schools, Toledo. 

Higher Education — Prof. E. B. Andrews, Lancaster. 

Normal Schools — Delia A. Lathrop, Principal of the 
City Normal School, Cincinnati. 

Teachers' Institutes — Thos. W. Harvey, Painesville. 



IV TREFACE. 

School Supeiivisign — John Hanoook, Superintendent of 
Public Schools, Dayton. 

Teachers' Associations — E. E. White, Columbus. 

Penal, Reformatory, AND Benevolent Institutions — E. 
D. Mansfield, LL. D., Morrow. 

Biographical Sketches and Educational Periodicals — 
W. D. Henkle, Editor of Ohio Educatioral Monthly, Salem. 

The chapters have been written by the i)ersons appointed, 
under the supervision of the general editors. Though pre- 
pared, in most instances, in such intervals of leisure as can 
be commanded by persons engaged in the exacting duties 
of professional life, it is believed that the leading facts in 
the history of education in Ohio have been stated with great 
accuracy. Much care has been taken to consult all known 
sources of information. School reports, educational journals, 
volumes of statutes, local historical sketches, etc., have 
been examined, and a free use made of the facts contained 
in them. It has not been deemed necessary or advisable 
to refer, except in a few cases, to the sources from which 
facts have been obtained. 

The omission of special reference to the Female Semi- 
naries in the State is not intentional on the part of the com- 
mittee or editors. There is not a large number of these 
institutions in Ohio, but they rank among the best in the 
Union. They have received a generous patronage in the 
past, and are now enjoying a marked degree of prosperity. 

The plan adopted for the preparation of this volume, has 
made some repetition necessary, but care has been taken" to 
avoid, as far as possible, the repetition of details given in 
the appropriate chapter. 

It has been the aim of the editors to secure a general uni- 
formity in the use of capitals and in punctuation, but the 
taste of the several writers has been consulted. 

E. E. White. 
June, 1876. Thos. W. Harvey. 



TABLE OF CONTEXTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

SCHOOL LEGISLATION 9 

Organic Laws 9 

School Lands y • 12 

Leases of Lands 18 

Sale of Lands 22 

Irreducible Funds 20 

Distributable Funds 32 

District Taxes 36 

School Districts 43 

Teachers 59 

Superintendence 67 

Pupils 75 



CHAPTER II. 

UNGRADED SCHOOLS 80 

Early Settlers 81 

First Schools in the State 82 

Early Legislation 83 

Teachers in Pioneer Schools 86 

Text-books 89 

School-houses .' 90 

Appointment of Examiners 95 

Instruction in Ungraded Schools 103 

Suggestions for Their Improvement 104 



CHAPTER III. 

GRADED SCHOOLS 106 

General History 106 

Grading and Classification 123 

Promotions and Transfers 125 

Examinations 126 

Teachers and Salaries 127 

Course of Study and Instruction 128 



VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

HIGH SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES 133 

Early History 133 

Recommendations of Governors 136 

Early Academies : 144 

Recent History of High Schools 148 

Early High Schools in Smaller Places 157 

Sandusky High School 159 

Cleveland High Schools 160 

('incinnati High Schools 164 

Akron High School 168 

Columbus High School 170 

Davton High School 172 

Toledo High School 173 

General Summary 178 

CHAPTER V. 

HIGHER EDUCATION 187 

The Ohio Company of Associates 187 

Ohio University 191 

Miami University 198 

Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College .^ 202 

Kenyon College 210 

Western Reserve College 214 

Denison Universitv 217 

Oberlin College....". 220 

Marietta College 224 

Ohio Wesleyan Universitv 227 

St. Xavier College .". 229 

Wittenberg College 232 

Baldwin University 234 

Otterbein University 236 

Hiram College 239 

Heidelberg College 241 

Wilberforce University 243 

Mount Union College 245 

Antioch College 247 

University of Cincinnati.... 252 

Conclusions 255 



CHAPTER VI. 

NORMAL SCHOOLS 263 

Opinions of State Officials 263 

McNeeley Normal School 288 

National Normal School 292 

Western Reserve Normal School 295 

Orwell Normal Institute 297 

North-western Normal School 298 

Ohio Central Normal School 301 

City Normal and Training Schools •">02 

(Cincinnati Normal School '. ■">(i:) 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. Vll 

Dayton Normal School :50f) 

Cleveland City Normal School 310 

Sandusky Training School 311 



CHAPTER VII. 

TEACHERS' INSTITUTES 313 

The College of Professional Teachers 313 

County Teachers' Institutes .315 

Tlic State Normal Class of 1848 318 

City and Graded-School Institutes 325 

City Institutes in Cincinnati 325 

City Institutes in Cleyeland 326 

(Traded-School Institute in Cleveland 328 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SCHOOL SUPERVISION 330 

State Superyision 330 

Samuel Lewis and Horace Mann 330 

Reports of the Secretaries of State 336 

Labors and Views of the State Commissioners 339 

County Supervision 340 

City and Town Superyision 351 

Duties of a Superintendent 354 

First Superintendent in Ohio .356 

Salaries paid the First Superintendents 358 



CHAPTER IX. 

TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIONS 360 

AVestern Literary Institute 360 

The College of Teachers 361 

State Conventions in Ohio 363 

Ohio Teachers' Association ^ 368 

The Original Call, and Organization 368 

Meetings from 1848 to 1853 372 

Meetings from 1853 to 1875 386 

McNeeley Normal School 387 

Ohio Journal of Education 388 

Table of Principal Officers 391 

Other State Associations 391 

Local Associations 392 



CHAPTER X. 

EDUCATION IN THE PENAL, REFORMATORY, AND BE- 
NEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS 393 

The Dependent Class 393 

Institution for the Blind 396 

Institution for the Deaf and Dumb 397 



Viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Youth 398 

Reform Farm for Boys 399 

Girls' Industrial School 401 

Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home 402 

The Ohio Penitentiary 402 

Cincinnati House of Refuge 404 

Cleveland House of Refuge 404 

Cincinnati Work-house 405 

Cleveland Work-house 405 

Industrial School of Cleveland 406 

Ori^han Asylums and Women's Homes 407 

Covmty Infirmaries * 407 

Summary_of Results 408 



CHAPTER XL 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 411 

Ephraim Cutler 412 

Nathan Guilford 414 

Albert Picket 415 

JohnL. Talbot 417 

Milo G. Williams - 419 

Samuel Lewis 421 

Calvin E. Stowe 424 

Dr. Wm. H. M'Guffey 425 

Samuel Galloway 426 

Dr. Asa Dearborn Lord 426 ' 

Dr. Joseph Ray 428 

Marcellus F. Cowdery 429 

Isaac Sams 430 

William Norris Edwards 431 

Samuel T. Worcester 432 

Harvey Rice 433 

Robert W. Steele 434 

Rufus King 434 



CHAPTER XII. 

EDUCATIONAL PERIODICALS 436 

Early Periodicals 436 

Ohio Common School Director 437 

The Ohio School Journal 437 

The School Friend 437 

The Ohio Journal of Education 438 

The Ohio Educational Monthly 439 

The Journal of Progress 440 

News and Educator 441 

The National Normal 441 

Educational Notes and Queries 441 

College and School Periodicals 442 

APPENDIX 443 



EDUCATION IN OHIO. 



CHAPTER I. 
SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 



The State of Ohio is situated centrally anion sj the States 
of the Union. It extends from Lake Erie on the north to 
the Ohio river on the south, an average distance of nearly 
two hundred miles. From Pennsylvania on the east to In- 
diana on the west, the distance is about two hundred and 
twenty miles. The area is nearly forty thousand square 
miles, the State being nearly square. 

The first immigrants came from the older states to the 
Ohio Valley in the year 1788. The population, in the year 
1800, was 45,365. In 1840, the number reached 1,519,467. 
Ohio was then the third state in population, and has main- 
tained the same rank at each succeeding decennial census. 
In 1870, the number was 2,66-5,260, and the increase during 
the last six years has been about 200,000. 

ORGANIC LAWS. 

Legislation concerning schools in the territory north-west 
of the Ohio river began in the Continental Congress, which 
was ora;anized under the Articles of Confederation. 



10 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

In the year 1787, Congress provided, by ordinance, a tem- 
porary government for this north-western territory, until the 
number of inhabitants should justify the formation of a 
state, to be admitted to the Union "on an equal footing with 
the original states," 

The ordinance of 1787, after some general laws and the 
form of territorial government, set forth six articles of com- 
pact between the original states and the people and states of 
the territory, which articles shall " forever remain unalter- 
able, unless by mutual consent." The following is part of 
Article III : 

" Religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good govern- 
ment and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of educa- 
tion shall forever be encouraged," 

It was also inserted in one of these articles of compact, 
that no local legislature should ever interfere with the pri- 
mary disposal of the soil by the United States. The land 
■was to be the great source of endowment for schools. 

The ordinance of 1787 was the organic law of all the terri- 
tory lying north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi, 
until Ohio, the first state formed within these limits, was 
admitted to the Union, with a constitution formed in Novem- 
ber, 1802. The following is from Article VIII of this con- 
stitution : 

" Sec. 3. Religion, morality and knowledge, being essentially neces- 
sary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and 
the means of education shall forever be encouraged by legislative pro- 
vision, not incon>sistant with the rights of conscience." 

This is evidently copied from the ordinance, with an 
attempt to make it more precise and guarded. The foUoAV- 
ing from the same article is also intended to guard against 
possible injustice: 

" Sec. 25. No law shall be passed to prevent the poor in the several 
counties and townships within this State from an equal participation in 
the schools, academies, colleges, and universities within this State, 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 11 

which are endowed in whole or in part from the revenue arising from 
donations made by the United States for the support of schools and 
colleges ; and the doors of said schools, academies and universities shall 
be open for the reception of scholars, students, and teachers of every 
grade, without any distinction or preference whatever, contrary to the 
intent for which said donations were made." 

The above, with the following, is all that relates to 
education in the first constitution of Ohio : 

" Sec. 27. Every association of persons, when regularly formed, 
within this State, and having given themselves a name, may, on appli- 
cation to the legislature, be entitled to receive letters of incorporation, 
to enable them to hold estates, real and personal, for the support of 
their schools, academies, colleges, universities, and for other purposes." 

It seems doubtful whether the franiers of this constitution 
contemplated any other legislation to encourage schools, than 
the granting of corporate power and the protection of rights 
of person and property. They seem to have believed that 
twelve hundred square miles of land, including the three 
college townships, would be adequate to the support of 
" schools, academies, colleges, and universities." It is very 
evident that they did not contemplate any gap between the 
several grades, but expected students to pass regularly from 
the school to the university. 

The constitution of 1802 was superseded by that of 1851, 
which remains still in force. A sentence in the bill of rights 
again repeats the clause from Article III of the ordinance, 
with slight verbal changes, not amendments. There is also 
the following separate article on education: 

" Sec. 1. The principal of all funds arising from the sale or other dis- 
position of lands, or other property granted or entrusted to this State for 
educational and religious purposes, shall forever be preserved inviolate 
and undiminished, and the income arising therefrom shall be faithfully 
applied to the specific objects of the original grants or appropriations. 

" Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall make such provisions, by tax- 
ation or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school trust 
fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools 
throughout the State; but no religious or other sect or sects Sshall ever 



12 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds • 
of this State." 

The first section is simply a pledge of the honor of the 
State to the faithful execution of a trust. The second indi- 
cates, that in half a century the sentiment of Ohio had grown 
from encouragement of schools to the demand for a thorough 
and efficient system. 

This constitution also recognizes and sanctions the per- 
missive feature of the school legislation of Ohio. Among 
the restrictions upon the legislative power is the one that 
no act, " except such as relates to public schools," shall be 
passed, to take effect upon the approval of any other au- 
thority than the General Assembly. 

SCHOOL LANDS. 

Before the coming of the first settlers to the territory north- 
W^est of the Ohio, before any provision for their government, 
the Continental Congress, in 1785, made an ordinance for the 
survey and disposition of the land which they were to oc- 
cupy. This law reserved from sale " lot number 16 of every 
township, for the maintenance of public schools within the 
said township." Each township was to be six miles square, 
thus containing thirty-six square miles or sections. The 
section or lot number 16 is one of the four at the center of 
the township. Several of the states made claims to the 
ownership of all or part of this western territory. The Con- 
tinental Congress, before the formation of the present con- 
stitution of the national government, made compromises 
with those states which did not voluntarily yield their 
claims. Thus the State of Connecticut retained the owner- 
ship of the land between Lake Erie and the forty-first par- 
allel of latitude, and extending westward one hundred and 
twenty miles from the western boundary of Pennsylvania. 
This Avas called the Connecticut Reserve, frequently the 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. l3 

Western Reserve. The State of Virginia retained as much 
of the land between the Scioto and the Little Miami as 
might suffice, with other lands which belonged to Virginia, 
to satisfy the bounties which had been promised by that 
state to her soldiers who had served in the war of the 
Revolution. Both states yielded all claim to territorial 
jurisdiction or powers of government. 

It has been said, and the state of the public treasury in 
1785 warrants the assertion, that the reservation of a section 
of land for the support of schools in every township, was a 
business operation on the part of Congress, in order " to in- 
duce purchasers." This only transfers the credit from the 
legislators to the people at large. The greatest inducement 
that could be offered to immigrants was the endowment of 
schools in every township. Congress was actuated by far- 
seeing wisdom; these legislators were laying the foundations 
of great states, and they knew that there could be no more 
solid basis for the structure than religion, morality, and 
knowledge. 

During the existence of the territorial government, there 
was no legislation by the territorial authorities, upon the 
subject of schools or school lands, except a law passed in 
in 1799 to punish the offense of destroying trees on school 
lands, and an act passed in 1802 to incorporate the American 
Western University in the town of Athens. No organiza- 
tion was effected under this act, and it was superseded in 
1804 by an act of the state legislature. 

The ordinance of 1785 reserved for support of schools part 
of all lands belonging to Congress, but made no provision 
for maintenance of public schools in the Connecticut Re- 
serve and the Virginia Reservation. These together are 
one-fourth of the present territory of the State of Ohio. In 
addition. Congress, in 1796, appropriated a tract of nearly 
four thousand square miles to satisfy land bounties granted 
to officers and soldiers of the army of the Revolution. This 



14 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

tract, nearly in the center of the present state, was surveyed 
into townships of five miles square, with no reservation for 
school purposes. These defects were remedied in the follow- 
ing manner. 

In 1802, the Congress of the United States authorized the 
inhabitants of the territory to form a constitution and state 
government. The act provided for the election of a consti- 
tutional convention, to assemble in November, and Congress 
offered to the convention : 1st, section 16 in every township 
for the use of schools ; 2nd, one township and two sections 
of salt lands ; and 3d, one twentieth of the net proceeds of 
the sales of Congress lands within the State, to be applied to 
making public roads; provided, that the convention should 
make an ordinance that all lands to be sold by Congress 
should be exempt from taxation until five years from the 
day of sale. 

The convention wisely proposed to accept the offer, if 
Congress would agree to make a donation equal to one 
thirty-sixth part of the lands of the United States Military 
District for the support of schools in that tract, and that a 
like provision should be made for the support of schools in 
the Virginia Reservation, so far as the unlocated lands in 
that tract would supply the proportions aforesaid ; and also, 
that a donation of the same kind, or such provision as Con- 
gress should deem expedient, should be made to the inhabit- 
ants of the Connecticut Reserve ; that one thirty-sixth of all 
lands afterwards to be purchased from the Indians, should 
likewise be given for the support of public schools ; and that 
the title of all lands before mentioned should be vested in 
the legislature of the State for said purpose. 

Congress assented, in a short time, to these modifications 
of the contract. Immediately, lands within the present 
counties of Guernsey, Coshocton, Muskingum, Licking, Dela- 
ware, and Morrow were given for school purposes in the 
United States Military District. These lands amounted to 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 16 

112J square miles, "being the one thirty-sixth part of the 
estimated whole amount of lands within that tract." In 
fact, it was two or three square miles in excess of that 
quantity. The land in the Virginia Reservation Avas still 
open to location with bounty warrants, and it seems that no 
school lands were located within that district ; but in 1807 
Congress appropriated land for schools for the inhabitants of 
the Virginia Military Reservation, within the limits of the 
present counties of Holmes, Wayne, Ashland, Richland, 
Crawford, and Morrow, amounting to 165 square miles. This 
was probably as much as one thirty-sixth part of the terri- 
tory between the Scioto and Little Miami rivers. 

Congress also gave 87^ square miles of land within the 
present counties of Tuscarawas and Holmes, for schools 
for the inhabitants of the Connecticut Western Reserve. This 
was not equal to one thirty-sixth of the Reserve ; but a large 
part of that district was still in the occupation of the Indians. 
In 1805, the Indians by treaty ceded the lands to the United 
States. It was not until 1834 that Congress gave, from other 
public lands in the north-western part of the State, 59 
square miles, making, with the former donation, an amount 
equal to one thirty-sixth of the area of the Connecticut Re- 
serve. 

Along the Ohio river every township was fractional — that 
is, it contained less than thirty-six square miles — and the 
same thing occurred in many parts of the State, at the 
V)Ounclaries of the land districts. The original grant of 
school lands to every township was generously executed in 
all these cases. Every fraction as large as three-fourths of a 
township was allowed a whole section ; every fraction of 
more than half and less than three-fourths was allowed 
three C{uarter sections ; every fraction of more than a fourth 
and less than a half township was allowed a half section ; 
and every fraction of more than one square mile and less 
than a fourth part of a township was allowed a quarter sec- 



16 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

tion. These school lands were selected by the Secretary of 
the Treasury from public lands either in or near the frac- 
tional toAvnships. Also, to several whole townships, in 
Avhich section sixteen had been disposed of by the govern- 
ment agents, a section of land was allowed as in case of 
fractional townships. Thus, finally, eleven hundred square 
miles, one thirty-sixth part of all the land in the State 
of Ohio, was devoted to the maintenance of public schools. 

In the ordinance of 1785, Congress reserved three Indian 
villages on the Upper Muskingum river, now called the 
Tuscarawas, for the use of the Christian Indians. This 
grant was enlarged to include 12,000 acres, and the title was 
vested in the Moravian Missionaries in trust for the Indians; 
but in 1824, Congress making other j^rovision for the 
Indians, the land was reconveyed to the United States. 
Then, one thirty-sixth part of the land was set apart for 
the use of schools, the title being vested in the State of Ohio. 

It has been claimed, with great reason, that Ohio paid in 
full for all her school lands by yielding her right to tax the 
land within her limits belonging to the general government, 
and by yielding the right to tax land sold for five years from 
date of purchase. However, the foundation of the public 
school system in the new states was the act of the Congress 
of the United States, the policy of Congress being that of a 
wise proprietor of an immense domain. Ohio was the first 
of the five states formed in the territory north of the Ohio 
river, the first state formed on land belonging to the nation. 
The spirit Avhich we have seen gradually pervading the 
national legislation on this subject with reference to Ohio, 
has been the established rule with all the other new states. 
In those admitted since about the middle of this century, 
the portion has been doubled, so that they receive one 
eighteenth of the land for public school purposes. Every 
child educated in a public school in any of these new states, 
is in a peculiar manner a beneficiary of the Union. 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 17 

In addition to the grants of lands for the public schools, 
three townships were secured for the establishment of schools 
of a higher rank. In 1787, the Ohio Company made a con- 
tract for the purchase from Congress of a million and a half 
of acres in the south-eastern part of the territory. One of 
the covenants in the bargain was, that twotoAvnshipsof land 
should be set apart for the endowment of a university under 
the management of the territorial or state legislature. Two 
townships were selected, being the one in which the town of 
Athens is situated, and the one next south of it. In the 
same year, Mr. John Cleves Symmes, encouraged by the 
success of the Ohio Company, proposed to purchase the land 
between the Great and Little Miami rivers. Instead of two 
townships for a university, he asked that " one only be 
assigned for the benefit of an academy." Mr. Symmes 
partially failed to fulfill his contracts, and no land Avas 
dedicated for this purpose within the bounds of his purchase ; 
but in 1803, Congress gave to the State other lands west of 
the Great Miami river, equal in quantity to one township, 
" in lieu of the college township given to Symmes." In 
1804, the General Assembly of Ohio passed an act to 
establish the Ohio University in the town of Athens; and in 
1809, an act to establish the Miami University. ' The latter 
was, in 1810, located at Oxford, on the land last mentioned. 

The care and management of these embryo universities 
and their land endowments was entrusted to the State. How 
this trust was executed is shown by the fact that the yearly 
income of the Ohio University from the forty-six thousand 
acres is only a little over four thousand dollars, and that the 
income of the Miami University from her twenty-three 
thousand acres is less than six thousand dollars. About the 
year 1843, the former institution was closed for several years 
on account of financial embarrassment ; and the same cause 
has shut the doors of the Miami University since 1873. Yet 
some of the most distinguished men of the State and of the 
nation have been educated at these schools. 



18 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

LEASES OF LANDS. 

The first General Assembly of the State of Ohio convened 
in March, 1803. This body passed an act to provide for leas- 
ing the school lands in the several parts of the State, "for 
the purpose of improving the same, and thereby rendering 
them productive, that the profits arising therefrom may be 
applied to the support of schools." Accordingly, it was en- 
acted that the school lands within the United States Mili- 
tary Tract should be Leased for terms not exceeding fifteen 
years, and the "number sixteen" sections not exceeding 
seven years. The rent for every quarter section of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres was to consist in making the following 
improvements : fifteen acres cleared of all timber and other 
wood, and fenced in separate fields, one field of five acres to 
be sowed down in grass, and one of three acres to be planted 
with one hundred thrifty and growing apple trees, and the 
remaining seven acres to be arable land; these improve- 
ments to be made within the first twelve years in the fifteen 
year leases, and within, the first five years in the seven year 
leases. 

The Governor was authorized to appoint suitable agents 
in the several counties and districts, to make these leases. 
The agents were to give public notice, and were to receive 
bids and make leases to those bidders who should offer to 
make the improvements required for the shorter term of 
lease. The agents were also to have the care of the lands, 
and might bring actions against persons wasting the timber, 
one-half of the sum recovered to belong to the agent and the 
remainder to be for the use of schools. 

Two years after, in 1805, that part of the above act which 
relates to sections sixteen was so amended that the several 
boards of township trustees Avere authorized to grant leases 
of such lands for terms not exceeding fifteen years, "to those 
who make the most advantageous proposals." It was made 
the duty of the trustees "to see that the proceeds arising 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 19 

from the leases be duly and imi^artially applied to the 
education of youths, within tlie jmrticular surveyed tcnvn- 
ship, in such a manner that all the citizens resident therein 
may be equal partakers of the benefits thereof." 

The first act looked only to the improvement of the prop- 
erty and its preservation from damage by tresjmssers. This 
act is the first contemplating revenue and providing for its 
application to the use of schools. 

Before the adoption of the first state constitution, in 1802, 
Ohio had been divided into nine counties. The j^rocess of 
division was continued till the adoption of the second con- 
stitution, in 1851, when there were eighty-eight counties, the 
present number. Each county is divided into townships, 
and the boundaries of the townships may be changed by the 
county commissioners, under certain restrictions. These 
civil townships might not coincide with the "original sur- 
veyed" townships which had been marked off by the United 
States surveyors for the purposes of sale. Yet section sixteen 
had been given for the use of the citizens of the original 
township. This distinction applies only to those parts of 
the State which were originally laid out in square townshij^s 
of thirty-six square miles, and to fractions of such town- 
ships. In these, however, the distinction is kept up to the 
present time, and a knowledge of it is necessary to an under- 
standing of school laws. 

Accordingly, in 1806, an act was passed to incorporate 
every original surveyed township, even when there was "a 
county line running through " it. This act provided for the 
election of three trustees and a treasurer. The power to 
grant leases was transferred to these boards, the act of 1805 
being thus far amended. It was made their duty to take care 
of the lands, and to apply the rents paid in cash to the use of 
schools in the toAvnship. The rents paid in produce were to 
be disposed of in the "manner best calculated to promote the 
interest of the institution." 



20 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

In 1809, an important change was made. Hitherto the 
leases were for limited periods, not exceeding fifteen years. 
In two or three instances, perpetual leases had been author- 
ized by special laws — for instance, the lands belonging to the 
Ohio University. In this year, a law was enacted for the sur- 
vey and disposition of the lands recently granted by Congress 
for the use of schools in the Virginia Military Reservation. 
These lands were now ordered to be surveyed in quarter sec- 
tions, and after public notice, to be sold to the highest 
bidder, at not less than two dollars per acre in addition to the 
costs of survey and sale, these costs to be paid down ; but on 
the remainder the purchaser was to pay yearly forever six 
per centum, "subject, however, to alteration by any succeed- 
ing legislature, so as to enable the purchaser or purchasers t(» 
make such commutation as said legislature may think expe- 
dient." 

In effect, this was a peq^etual lease with proviso for altera- 
tions in favor of the tenatit, but with no provision for revalua- 
tion or any other change in favor of the schools. The next 
3^ear, the legislature agreed to a cash payment of ten dollars 
per quarter section, as a commutation of the cash payment for 
cost of survey and for Jive years of rent. The rent on one hun- 
dred and sixty acres for five years would have been at least 
ninety-six dollars. It was also enacted that the tenant must 
make certain improvements and build a house within three 
years. In 1813, a further time of one year was allowed t(» 
make these improvements, many of the lessees having been 
"driven from their possession by the savage enemies." In 
1814, a further time of one year was allowed. In 181(), 
the laws relating to leases of Virginia Military school lands 
were replaced by a new statute, the most important section 
requiring all subsequent leases of these lands to contain 
a proviso for the revaluation of the land in the year 1835, and 
every twenty years thereafter, without taking into consider- 
ation the improvements, the rent to be six per centum jjer 
annum on each valuation. 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 21 

In the year 1817, a law Avas enacted to provide for leasing 
sections sixteen. This act was drawn up in a bungling man- 
ner. The trustees of original townships, and in case no 
Huch trustees had been elected in the township, the county 
commissioners, Avere authorized to lease the lands for terms 
of ninety-nine years, renewable forever, at an annual ren- 
tal of six per centum of their value as appraised by disin- 
terested freeholders, but the lands Avere to be subject to a 
revaluation every thirty-three years. If no applicant Avould 
pay so high a rent, then after twelve months the lands 
might be leased to the highest bidder. The same poAvers to 
lease the school lands in the United States Military District 
were given to the courts of common pleas in the se\'eral coun- 
ties of that district. The framers of this act paid no atten- 
tion to the laAv limiting the terms of leases of section six- 
teen to fifteen years, as provided in the act to incorporate 
the original surveyed townships. The last named act was 
again revised in 1824, the limitation of leases to fifteen years 
))eing re-enacted. It was again revised in 1831, the length 
of leases being reduced to seven years for improvement leases, 
and three years for leases of improved lands. But in 1823, a 
laAV had been enacted that no lease should thereafter be 
granted of any school lands in Ohio for a longer term than 
one year. 

What Avas the actual income from sections sixteen, we 
have no means of knowing. From 1821 to 1828, the State 
borroAved the income of the Virginia Reservation school 
lands, paying annual interest and compounding the same 
every year. In 1825 and 1826, the income was about five 
thousand dollars, but it Avas less in previous years. In Jan- 
uary, 1829, the fund amounted, Avith interest, to $54,000,' 
Avhich Avas then by laAv distributed among the several coun- 
ties and parts of counties in that district, in proportion to the 
number of children in each, " except black and mulatto chil- 
dren ;" and the laAv provided for the annual distribution of 



22 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the income thereafter by the same rules. The income from 
the school lands in the settled portions of the State may 
be assumed to have been as much per acre as the above. 

During the years of various and contradictory legislation 
for leasing the lands, those who made the laws were becom- 
ing convinced that any system of leases was bad. In 1821, 
Governor Brown, in his annual message to the General As- 
sembly, said: 

" So iav as my information extendi, the appropriation of the school 
lands in this state has produced hitherto (with few exceptions) no very 
material advantage in the dissemination of instruction — none com- 
mensurate with their presumable value. " 



SALE OF LANDS. 

As a remedy, it was proposed that the lands should be sold 
absolutely ; but there might be doubts as to the power of the 
State to sell without the consent of the Congress of the Uni- 
ted States. Accordingly, in 1824, a memorial was addressed 
to Congress by the " State of Ohio in General Assembly. " 
This memorial first gives a statement of the various grants 
of school lands in the State ; then, in a few Avords, refers to the 
effort to render them productive, in particular by the method 
of leasing. Experience, however, had fully demonstrated 
that this fund would be Avholly unavailing in its present 
shape. 

By reason of the facilities which the State of Ohio afforded 
for acquiring a property in real estate, a necessity existed 
of leasing the lands in question to persons almost wholly 
destitute of pecuniary means, whereby the avails were ren- 
dered at least uncertain. The tenants were of the lowest 
class of the community, persons who possessed no permanent 
interest in the soil. They wasted the timber, and the loss 
was equal, perhaps, to the whole revenue which may have 
been derived. The fact that the State was compelled to offer 
upon lease so great a proportion of her soil as to invite and 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 23 

retain a population of a character not to be desired, also de- 
served consideration. In the language of the memorial, 
" The great bod_y of those who constitute the strength and 
basis of every government, and who are to be considered as 
the friends of good order and public improvement, are among 
those who are the oAvners as well as occupiers of the soil." 

The memorial might have added, that this tenant element 
of the population, having the right of suffrage, exerts a per- 
nicious influence on legislation, and procures the enactment 
of laws in the interest of the renter rather than for the good 
of the school fund. 

The memorial proceeds to assert that the State has the 
power of disposing of these lands in fee, and this is main- 
tained by a convincing legal argument ; yet an act of Congress 
declaring the authority of the State of Ohio to sell the school 
lands, would be productive of benefit by removing every 
doubt. 

Congress took no action in reply to this memorial. After 
waiting three years, the General Assembly began to provide 
for the sale of the school lands in the State. In January, 
1827, three acts were passed : 1. To provide for obtaining 
the consent of the inhabitants of the United States Mili- 
tary District to the sale of lands appropriated to the use of 
schools in said district, and to authorize the lessees of said 
lands to surrender their leases and receive certificates of 
purchase. 2. To provide for the sale of section sixteen, 
granted by Congress for the use of schools. 3. To enable the 
inhabitants of the Virginia Military District, to give their 
consent or dissent to the sale of lands, granted by Congress 
for the use of schools in said district. 

It was made the duty of the county assessor, in all the 
counties of the United States Military District, to take a 
vote of all the white male inhabitants over 21 years of age. 
The name of each voter was to be entered in a book, in a 
column of those " in favor of a sale, " or in a column of those 



24 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

•' opposed to the sale. " A similar duty was imposed upon the 
assessor of every county in which there was an original sur- 
veyed township or fractional township owning school lands. 
Several months were allowed for taking this vote. A sim- 
ple method was taken for deciding the legality of any 
contested vote. In the United States Military District, the 
results were to be returned to the Secretary of State before 
the first of July following ; and the results in the case of 
section sixteen were to be returned to the Auditor of State 
the next October. In the former case, the Governor was 
immediately to proclaim the result, if in favor of sale. The 
returns of votes on the sale of section sixteen were to be re- 
ported to the General Assembly ; and v/hen no vote was 
taken in any township owning such a section, or when a 
majority voted against a sale, another vote might be taken 
in any subsequent year. Whenever the vote was in favor of 
sale, the land should be " offered for sale in such year as the 
legislature may direct. " The vote of the inhabitants of the 
Virginia Military District was to be taken at the ensuing 
October election of state officers. It was also viva voce. 
The act only provided for taking the vote and returning the 
result to the General Assembly at the next session. The 
vote was in favor of a sale, both in the United States Mili- 
tary District and the Virginia Reservation, also in some 
townships. 

The act of 1827 contained full and careful details for the 
manner of selling a section sixteen. When the land was not 
leased, or the lease was to expire within a year, the land was 
to be re-appraised with all the improvements, and to be sold 
to the highest bidder at not less than the appraised value — 
one-fourth cash, the remainder in three annual payments 
without interest. If not sold for want of bidders, the county 
auditor might sell at private sale, but not at less than the ap- 
praised value. Early in 1828, laws Avere enacted for conduct- 
ing the sales of both the Virginia Military and the United 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 25 

States Military school lands, and the unleased portions were 
ordered to be sold during that year. These laws were simi- 
lar to those for the sale of section sixteen; but in the sale of the 
Virginia Military school lands, the deferred payments were 
to bear interest, and in the sale of the United States Military 
school lands, the purchaser was to pay one-sixth down and 
the remainder in five annual payments without interest. 

In all these acts for the sale of unleased lands, provision 
was made for tlie leased lands also. Every owner of a per- 
manent lease might surrender his estate, and then, after pay- 
ing all rents due, he was entitled to purchase the land at the 
last appraised value — one-eighth cash clown, and the remain- 
der in seven annual payments with interest. In the two 
military districts, the payment was in ten installments. 
These very generous enactments were amended several times 
Avithin a few years, and generally the amendments were in 
favor of the lessees, and never against their interests. 

The operation of these laws was thus described by Hon. 
Samuel Lewis, the first Superintendent of the Common 
Schools of the State, in his first annual report, in Janu- 
ary, 1838. 

" The tenant may surrender his lease, and, on paying the former ap- 
praisement, take a deed in fee simple for the land sometimes wortli 
six times as much as he pays. Cases have come to my knowledge 
Avhere land has been taken at six dollars per acre, worth, at the time, 
fifty dollars. * * ® The tenants, to be sure, make their fortunes, 
but the schools are sacrificed. " 

In March, 1838, the sections of the law authorizing surren- 
ders by the tenants of section sixteen, were repealed, but 
similar laws for lands belonging to the two military districts 
remained in force. However, in 1839, the sections of the 
law of 1827 Avere revived with this modification — the hold- 
ers of perpetual leases of school lands were allowed the 
further time of one year to surrender their leases and become 
entitled to certificates of purchase, on paying all the rent 
3 



26 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

due and the value as found by a new appraisement, to bo 
made by three disinterested freeholders under oath, appointed 
by the court of common pleas. The appraisement was to 
be of the land alone without reference to improvements. 
The time was repeatedly extended by subsequent acts, and 
the manner of authorizing the sale was also amended. In 
1843, a law was passed revising the whole subject, the pro- 
visions of which remain substantially still in force. 

It was declared in the first section, that when any law shall 
authorize the sale of school lands, the proceedings should be 
regulated by this act. As the act of 1827 was not repealed, 
it was requisite that the legislature direct the time of sale 
of any section sixteen. In 1852, this law was re-enacted 
with slight change, the first section providing that all school 
lands known as section sixteen may be sold; the act of 1827 
was repealed — so that since 1852 the whole business has been 
under the control of the township authorities and the courts, 
except so far as frequent special and local laws have inter- 
fered. 

Since 1843, the vote of any original surveyed township 
upon the question of selling the school lands belonging to 
such township, is taken by ballot. If a majority vote against 
sale, at least one year must elapse before another vote. If 
the majority is for the sale, the court of common pleas ap- 
points appraisers who must not be residents of the township. 
These, under oath, with the aid of the county surveyor, 
divide the land into such parcels as will be best for the 
sale, and appraise the value of each parcel. The court ex- 
amines the proceedings, and if satisfied, decrees, that all is 
jus^ and fair. The auditor of the county, after publication, 
sells the land at public sale to the highest bidder, at not less 
than the appraisement, one-twelfth cash down and the 
balance in eleven equal annual payments, with interest. 
This was reduced to one-third down and two annual pay- 
ments in 1873. If no person bids as high as the appraised 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 27 

value of the land or some parcel of it, the auditor may offer it 
again, after the required notice. If not sold within two 
years, the court may direct a new appraisement or authorize 
the auditor to offer it for sale again under the former ap- 
])raisement. The proceedings in the case of permanent 
leases were not changed from the law of 1839, except that 
the lessee was only required to pay one-twelfth down, the 
same as other purchasers at public sale. The greatest amend- 
ment of this law was made in 1844. It was then enacted that 
when the holder of a permanent lease wishes to surrender 
his lease in order to acquire a more perfect estate in the land, 
a vote of the township must be taken, the same as in case of 
a sale. In the revision of this law in 1852, it was provided 
that the holder of a permanent lease, wishing to purchase 
the fee of the land, must obtain the consent of the townshi]) 
trustees; and this can only be given after submitting the 
question to the voters and receiving the approval of the 
majority. By the act of 1873, the lessee must pay one-third 
down, as is the case with other purchasers. All of these 
statutes are silent as to the time when the lessee is to make 
the deferred payments, though the intention was evident to 
put both classes of purchasers on the same footing. 

The statute details the mode of collecting and accounting 
for the money, and paying the principal into the state treas- 
ury, and for deeds to be executed by the Governor. These 
details have remained from 1827 with scarcely any change. 

The school lands of the Connecticut Reserve, lying in the 
counties of Tuscarawas and Holmes, had been leased only in 
accordance with the statute of 1803. No perpetual leases 
had been granted. In February, 1828, a law Avas passed for 
submitting to the inhabitants of the Reserve the question 
of the sale of these lands, the vote to be taken at the time 
of the presidential election, in November of that year, in 
the same manner as provided for in the previous laws. It 
seems that owing to neglect or for some other cause, the vote 
was not taken under this law. 



28 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

In accordance with another act passed in December, 1829, 
the question was again submitted to the inhabitants of the 
Reserve. Their decision at the October election, in 1830, 
was in favor of sale, and in February, 1831, the lands were 
ordered to be appraised and sold, the details being similar to 
those of former laws. The payment was to be one-third in 
cash and the remainder in four equal annual installments, 
with interest. These lands were soon sold ; the final pay- 
ments were made in 1837. 

The additional lands granted by Congress, in 1834, for the 
support of schools in the Connecticut Reserve, were located 
in the northern part of the State. In 1848, the General As- 
sembly submitted to the inhabitants the question of their 
sale. The act stipulated that if consent were given, provi- 
sion should be made by law for the appointment of three 
residents of the Reserve to appraise the lands, and the lands 
should not he sold for less than the appraised value. The vote 
was viva voce, as by former laws, and consent was given. In 
1850, a law was passed for the appraisement and sale, and 
the lands were sold, the final payments into the state treas- 
ury being made in 1858. 

The sale of the school lands belonging to the United States 
Military District, which began in 1828, was completed in 
1849. The lands belonging to the Virginia Military Reserva- 
tion have not all been sold. There remain between nine 
and ten thousand acres, which are under perpetual lease at 
an annual rent of twelve cents per acre. The lands which 
belonged to the Moravian towns have been sold. 

The sales of section sixteen began in 1828, and have con- 
tinued to the present time. The greater part are sold ; very 
few whole sections remain. Only about one-eighth of the 
original surveyed townships and fractional townships now 
own any school lands. The records in the public offices in 
Columbus do not show the number of acres remaining unsold, 
but it is very much less than the eighth part of the original 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 29 

quantity. Nor have we the means of ascertaining what 
quantity is under perpetual and what under limited lease, 
these things being controlled by the local officers. The 
School Commissioner's Report for 187*5 shows that the re- 
ceipts from rents of the unsold school lands in Ohio for that 
3'ear, and for interest on deferred payments due on sales, 
iimounted to over twenty thousand dollars. 

One township and two sections of salt lands were granted 
to the State at the time the state government was organized, 
with the stipulation that the lands should never be sold. In 
1824, Congress released this condition, but stipulated that 
"the proceeds be applied to such literary purposes as the 
legislature may hereafter direct." The State accepted the 
condition, and the township in Jackson count}^, and the sec- 
tions in Muskingum and Delaware counties, were accordingly 
sold, and the proceeds funded for the use of common schools. 

The United States, in 1850, granted certain "swamp and 
overflowed lands" to the several states in which they were 
situated. In Ohio, there were 25,720 acres — that is, over 40 
square miles. lu 1853, a law was enacted to provide for 
draining and reclaiming these lands, under the direction of 
the county commissioners, the expense "to be paid in said 
lands lying in said county." The county auditors were to 
sell the remaining land, and after paying all expenses, the 
residue of the money was to be paid " into the state treasury 
for the use of common schools." 

In the year 1862, Congress gave to each state a portion of 
land for the endowment of a college, whose leading object 
should be to teach " such branches of learning as are related 
to agriculture and the mechanic arts." Each state received 
land in proportion to its representation in Congress; viz., 
thirty thousand acres for each member. The portion of 
Ohio was 630,000 acres, equal to 984 square miles. The lane) 
was to be taken in the State, if the United States owned any- 
surveyed land in the State ; otherwise, certificates were is^ 



MO EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

sued, Avhich could be located on any public lands. In Ohio, 
at that time, there remained only eighty acres of surveyed 
land belonging to the general government. Accordingly, 
the State received certificates, called land scrip, for the re- 
maining 629,920 acres. The proceeds of the sales amounted 
to $342,450. This remained in the state treasur}^ until, vi^ith 
interest, it amounted to half a million, which constitutes the 
endowment of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, 
at Columbus. The United States, in 1871, gave to the State 
all the unsurveved and unsold land in the Virginia Military 
Reservation. The State gave these lands also to the Agri- 
cultural and Mechanical College. The quantity and value 
are not known. 

IRREDUCIBLE FUNDS. 

In January, 1827, when the first laws for the sale of school 
lands were enacted, the General Assembly also made a law 
to establish a fund for the support of common schools. The 
act contains six sections. All, except the last, havg remained 
with scarcely a verbal change, and constitute the present 
law on this subject. 

The Auditor of State is superintendent of the common 
school fund. Whenever any moneys are paid into the state 
treasury, from the sale of lands appropriated by Congress for 
the support of sch(x>ls, the Auditor keeps an account, credit- 
ing each sum to the proper township (original surveyed) or 
the reserved district. The money constitutes an " irreducible 
fund for the support of common schools within the township 
or other district having credit for the same." All moneys so 
paid into the treasury bear an annual interest of six per 
centum, payable on the first day of January annually ; "and 
the faith of the State of Ohio is hereby pledged for the 
annual payment." The fourth section details the mode of 
paying the money, by the state and county officers, to the 
proper person in each school district. Section five provides 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 31 

for receiving any gift to the State in trust for the common 
schools, and for appropriating the interest according to the 
intent of the giver. 

In some of the western states, the entire proceeds of the 
the sale of common school lands have heen consolidated in 
one fund. In Ohio, there are 823 distinct funds which the 
State holds in trust for the use of common schools. Three 
are large — the Connecticut Western Reserve, the Virginia 
Military Reservation, and the United States Military Dis- 
trict. The rest are comparatively small, heing one for each 
township and fractional township in about three-fifths of the 
State, and one for the Moravian towns. 

The amount of these funds, on the 15th of November, 
1875, was as follows : 

Connecticut Western Reserve $257,429 21 

Virginia Military Reservation 181,290 79 

United States Military District 120,272 .12 

Moravian Towns 3,160 58 

Section Sixteen (819 distinct funds) 2,972,674 08 

Total common school irreducible fund $3,534,826 78 

On a portion of the Connecticut Western Reserve Fund, 
arising from the sale of the first allotment of land, the 
interest was for several years added to the principal, which 
increased this fund a little over fifteen thousand dollars. 

The last section of the act of 1827 to establish a fund for 
the support of common schools, constituted a fund " Avhicli 
shall belong in common to the people of this State, which 
shall consist of the net amount of money paid into the 
treasury from the sales of the salt lands, and such donations, 
legacies, and devises as may be made to the fund." The 
interest was to be funded annually till 1832, and afterwards 
paid to the several counties in proportion to the free male 
inhabitants, for the sui)port of common schools. In 1831, 
this was amended by substituting the word " white " for 



32 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

" free," and by extending the period of accumulation of 
interest till 1835. It remained in this shape on the statute 
book until 1873, when it was repealed, and a pledge made in 
the law that the State will pay for the support of common 
schools the interest of the money paid into the treasury from 
the sales of the salt lands. The State is, in truth, bound to 
pay interest on the principal of the fund, Avhich is some 
thousands of dollars more than the proceeds of the sales. 

In 1851, a law expressly referring to the sixth section of 
the act of 1831, directed that the proceeds of the sales of the 
swamp lands should be " appropriated to the general fund 
for the support of common schools," and directed the interest 
thereon to be funded until 1855, and after that year the 
interest on the whole to be distributed as other school funds. 
Nothing was paid into the state treasury on account of these 
lands for many years. The receipts from sales during the 
last two years have been about seven hundred dollars.* 



DISTRIBUTABLE FUNDS. 

The distributable common school funds provided by the 
laws of Ohio have been derived from various sources. The 
annual interest on the irreducible funds, together with the 
rents on the unsold lands, amounts now to about two hun- 
dred and forty thousand dollars. Since 1821, taxes have 
been levied by various authorities, and some local revenues 
have been devoted to the annual support of common schools, 
of which we shall speak hereafter. 

In 1838, a state common school fund was established, to 
consist of " the interest on the surplus revenue at five per 
centum ; the interest on the proceeds of the salt lands ; the 
revenue from banks, insurance, and bridge companies; and 
other funds to be provided by the State to the amount of two 



-■For some of the most important facts and dates in the last two sections of this 
chapter, the writer is indebted to Chas. J. Wetmore, Esq., of the State Auditor's Olfiee. 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 33 

hundred thousand doUars." This sum was to be distributed 
annually to the various counties, townships, and school dis- 
tricts, to be expended for the support of common schools. 
The sources of the fund named in the act did not usually 
suffice to make up the sum named, and the remainder was 
made up from the general revenue of the State, raised by 
direct taxation. The amount was reduced, in 1842, to 
$150,000, and was raised, in 1851, to $300,000. 

The salt land fund has been explained. In 1838, the prin- 
cipal of this fund amounted to S27,868. In 1850, the fun(.l 
was $41,024. The revenue from banks, and from insurance 
and bridge companies was five per centum of dividends 
declared. The amount varied ver}^ much from year to year. 
In 1838, it was $46,581. In 1839, it was $75,230, but it was 
not so large after that year. 

The Congress of the United States, in 1836, directed the 
surplus revenue of the general government to be deposited 
with the several states, in proportion to the number of repre- 
sentatives and senators in Congress. The share of Ohio was 
a little over two million dollars. The General Assembly, in 
1837, directed this money to be deposited with the several 
counties in proportion to population. Commissioners of the 
fund in each county were to make loans at from six to seven 
per centum annual interest. Five per centum of the prin- 
cipal was to be accounted for to the State Treasurer for 
school purposes. In the following year, by an amendatory 
act, the fund commissioners of each county were authorized 
to retain the income, except the five per centum just men- 
tioned, and "to invest the same in profitable stocks and 
mortgages, and to fund annually the dividends and interests, 
to accumulate a permanent fund for the support of schools, 
or for the promotion of public improvements, or for the 
building of academies in their counties." Laws passed in 
1847 and 1848, authorized the county commissioners to ap- 
propriate the avails of this county fund to the support of 



34 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

teachers' institutes. In what counties this fund now exists, 
or what is its amount, we have no means of ascertaining. 

For several years the five per centum of the surphis 
revenue yielded to the common sch(X)l fund a hundred thou- 
sand dollars annually. By the act of March, 1843, the sur- 
plus revenue fund was recalled from the counties, an<l 
devoted to the payment of a state debt, but the annual five 
per centum of the fund was continued to the use of the 
school fund. 

^In 1851, it was enacted that the balance of the fund, 
after payment of the particular debt for which it had 
been pledged, be added to the state common school fund ; 
but in 1853, the '' principal and proceeds " of the fund were 
made part of the sinking fund for the payment of the state 
debt. 

In the year 1844, several special revenues from auctions, 
peddlers, lawyers, and physicians, were added to the fund, 
and for some years a special direct state tax had been levied 
in order to make up the required fund for yearly distribu- 
tion. In 1853, a new system replaced the law of 1838 and 
its amendments, and also the so-called county tax. 

In 1825, a law levying a tax in every county was passc<l, 
and such a school tax continued to l)e levied until 1853. At 
first, it was one-half mill on the dollar; increased, in 1829, to 
three-fourths of a mill. In 1831, the county commissioners 
were empowered to add one-fourth of a mill, if they deemed 
it expedient. So it was increased gradually, till, in 1838, it 
was made two mills ; but in 1839, the county commissioners 
were authorized to reduce it to not less than one mill. Not 
one-fifth of the counties in Ohio took advantage of this per- 
mission in 1839. In 1847, the rate was reduced to two-fifths of 
a mill, but the proceeds were not reduced in this proportion, 
for under the new tax law of 1846 the total valuation of tax- 
able property in the State had been increased more than one 
hundred and seventy per cent. It was again increased to 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 



35 



one mill in 1851. In 1853, it was set aside entirely. This 
tax, from 1825 to 1853, was rather a township than a county 
tax, for the amount collected in each township was for the 
use of schools in that township. In 1836, the township 
officers were authorized to increase the rate, if a majority of 
the voters consented. 

The law of 1853 entirely ignored all special sources of 
revenue, and enacted that "for the purpose of afltbrding the 
advantages of a free education to all the youth of this State, 
the state common school fund " should consist of the sum 
produced hy a tax of one mill and a half per dollar on all the 
taxable property in the State. The total value of taxable 
property in the State of Ohio, in 1853, was nearly six hund- 
red million dollars, and this was increased the next year, 
by a revaluation, to nearly nine hundred millions. Thus, 
the distributable funds, under this laAV, very far exceeded the 
sums previously distributed from the state and county funds. 
The rate of the state tax has been several times diminished, 
and since 1871 it has been one mill on the dollar ; but the 
amount of taxable property has increased in a greater ratio, 
and for several years past, about one and a half million dol- 
lars have been distributed every year, from this fund, for the 
free education of all the youth of the State. 

In 1827, the legislature began the system of making offend- 
ers against the laws help to pay for public schools. It was 
enacted that " all fines imposed and collected by any justice 
of the peace, for any offence or immoral conduct done or 
committed in any school district, shall be, by such justice, 
jmid over to the treasurer of such district, for the use and 
support of schools within the same." 

In 1831, the " act for the prevention of certain immoral 
practices " provided that all fines collected under its provi- 
sions be "paid into the township treasury for the use of 
common schools in the township " in which the offence was 
committed. The offences named in the act are such as 



36 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

are punished generally by a fine only. In many other 
laws for the punishment of minor offences, it has been 
enacted that the pecuniary penalty shall be paid to either 
the county or township treasury for the use of schools. There 
seems to be no established principle to decide which treasury 
shall receive the penal sum. 

Such moneys in either the county or township treasury 
were distributed, as other school funds, among the districts. 
Since 1853, this money in the township treasury is at the 
disposition of the board of education. 



DISTRICT TAXES. 

The first mention of a school tax, in the legislation of Ohio, 
was in the law of 1821, which was the first general school 
law enacted in the State. This act authorized the division 
of every township into school districts. The property of all 
persons residing in a school district, and which was situated 
therein and liable to taxation for state or county purposes, 
was liable to be taxed for school purposes ; that is, to build a 
school-house, and to make up deficiencies that might accrue 
by schooling children whose parents were unable to pay their 
share of school expenses. The tax was limited to one-half 
the amount of state or county taxes. The omission of the 
property of non-residents was not made in subsequent laws ; 
but in 1831, it was enacted that a district school-house 
tax should not be levied upoft the property of a non-resident 
twice within three years, " by any alteration of districts ; " 
nor should such tax be levied on non-residents' property 
lying more than three miles from the school-house. The act 
of 1825 authorized the district meeting to provide means for 
building a house ; also to provide fuel and other things 
necessary for a school. In 1827, the power of the district 
meeting to levy a tax to erect or repair a school-house was 
limited to the sum of $300, and then only by a vote of 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 37 

three-fifths of the householders and tax-pa3^ers present. This 
was reduced to a simple majority in 1838. In 1830, the 
school-house tax was limited to $50 in any one year, unless at 
least one-third of the taxable property of the district was 
owned by residents; to $100 when from one-third to one-half, 
and to $200 when from one-half to two-thirds was so owned. 
The last of these items was diminished to $150 by the act of 
1831. In no case was the tax to exceed $275 in any one year. 
In 1836, the maximum yearly tax was again placed at $300, 
and the law of 1838 made no limit. In 1834, the law required 
one-third of the householders as a quorum of a district meet- 
ing to levy a tax. This was changed to one-half in 1836. 
Previous to 1838, the laws authorized the district to receive 
a gift of ground, not exceeding two acres, as a site for a school 
house ; but the law of that year was the first to authorize a, 
tax for " the purchase of a lot or lots on which to erect such 
house." Fuel and furniture were also added to the objects 
for which a tax might be raised. The act of 1821 uses the 
general expression " to make up deficiencies " as one object 
of the tax, and the act of 1825 authorizes the district meet- 
ing "to provide the necessary fuel," but seems not to intend 
any tax for that purpose. The act of 1829, Avhich repeals 
that of 1825, says nothing about fuel. The act of 1834 makes 
it the duty of every person sending a child to school to pro- 
vide his just proportion of fuel, in proportion to the number 
of children, but no child should be excluded from the school 
on account of the parent's delinquency in this respect. In 
1849, it was enacted that whenever a parent or guardian 
should fail to furnish his quota of fuel as ordered by the dis- 
trict directors, the same might be furnished by the directors, 
and the price paid might be collected, in the same manner as 
district school taxes, from the parent or guardian — that is, 
"by distress and sale of personal property." The power of 
the directors to provide fuel and to levy a tax for this purpose 
also remained in force. The laws previous to 1838, and to a 



do EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

less extent after that year, contemplated that a large portion 
of the district school expenses should be paid by voluntary 
contributions. It was made the duty of the district trea.surer 
or directors to keep an account of such moneys, and they 
were held responsible for their proper expenditure. 

Previous to 1838, the district taxes were collected by a dis- 
trict collector or treasurer. The act of that year gave the 
directors power to choose whether the district tax should be 
collected by such officer or by the county treasurer. In 1839, 
the former method was restored, and remained in force until 
1853 ; but in 1842, it was provided that at least thirty days 
notice should be given before taxes collected l)y the district 
collector were payable. 

From 1827 to 1853, the directors had power to commute 
any tax for labor or materials expended in building or 
repairs. In 1827, each householder's tax was to be at least 
one dollar, which he might discharge by two days' labor at 
building the house. This minimum was reduced to fifty 
cents in 1831, when the rate of a day's labor was omitted, 
and to twenty-five cents in 1836. It was omitted entirely in 
1838. 

In the act of 1838, the township clerk, acting as township 
superintendent of common schools, was directed to make an 
estimate of the money required, in addition to the distribut- 
able funds, " to provide at least six months good schooling 
to all the white unmarried youth in the township, during 
the year ensuing." The question of levying a tax to raise 
this sum was to be submitted to the voters of the township, 
at the township election on the first Monday of April. A 
similar duty was imposed on the directors of districts con- 
sisting of incorporated towns or cities, such districts not be- 
ing under the authority of the township superintendent. 
The object of this tax, as stated in the law, would in many 
cases necessarily preclude the distribution of the money to all 
the districts of a township, and the statutes did not ex- 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 39 

j)ressly direct such money to be distributed as other school 
funds. In effect, whenever this tax was voted in any town- 
ship, the township became to that extent a school district, 
in the act of 1839, the limit of two mills on the dollar of tax- 
able property, was affixed to the special tax that might 
l)e voted to give good schooling to the youth of the town- 
sliip. In 1848, it was made the duty of the district clerk, in 
the several school districts of the State, to make such an esti- 
mate as was required of the township clerk by the act of 
1838 ; the question of tax to be decided by the voters, at the 
annual school district meeting on the second Monday in 
April. An amendatory act of 1849, declared that this should 
not be construed to take away the power of the township to 
vote an additional school tax under the law of 1838. These 
acts were further amended in 1850, as to the details of col- 
lecting the money by the proper county officers. In 1851, this 
tax, when voted by the township, was limited to three mills 
on the dollar, and was made distributable among the 
districts. The act of 1838 made every incorjx)rated town or 
city a separate district, with power to divide into sub- 
districts, and provided that in assessing taxes for building 
school houses, the property not before taxed for this purpose 
should be assessed at a rate equal to that Avhich had been 
paid by property already taxed for such buildings, before a 
general assessment should be made. 

In 1839, a vote was authorized to be taken, in any district, 
upon the question of borrowing money to purchase a lot and 
erect a school house, and if it was voted, the directors were 
to levy such a tax as would pay the principal and interest 
in not more than ten annual installments ; but no loan 
should be made whose interest would exceed one mill on the 
dollar of the taxable property of the district. By the same 
act, the directors were authorized to levy a tax to pay rent, 
when the house or houses belonging to the district were not 
sufficient to accommodate the scholars. 



40 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The act of 1842 exempted from sale, on the execution of a 
judgment of a court, every lot appropriated for the use of a 
common school, not to exceed two acres, and if in a town one 
acre, on which there is a building occupied for the purpose, 
howsoever the legal title may be vested. In 1843, it 
was enacted that when a judgment is obtained against a 
school district for the payment of money for the land, or 
house, or labor, or materials used in building, repairing, 
or furnishing the house, it shall be the duty of the county 
auditor, on receiving a transcript of the judgment, to levy 
the amount on the property of the district, and that when the 
tax is collected, the county treasurer shall pay it over to the 
owner of the judgment. 

In 1846, a district meeting was authorized to levy a tax of 
not over $30 the first year, and $10 each subsequent j'ear, lor 
the purchase of a school library and apparatus. In 1851, the 
district directors were authorized to levy a tax of not over 
$50 for necessary maps, apparatus, and repairs, and to pro- 
vide fuel. 

The act of 1853 attempted an entire reorganization of the 
district system, making each township a school district, and 
doing away with all the former districts which were parts of 
townships, except those districts which consisted in Avhole 
or in part of a city or village. The districts previously 
established in the townships Avere thenceforth to be sul)- 
districts, with three directors as formerl}^, but neither the 
sub-district meeting nor the directors had any powers of tax- 
ation. A township board of education was organized, and it 
became the duty of this board to make every year an 
estimate of the money needed for all school purposes other 
than the payment of teachers ; that is, for purchasing sites, 
for erecting, purchasing, and repairing houses, for fuel, etc. 
The board was authorized to certify their estimate to the 
county auditor, whose duty it was to assess the amount 
on the taxable property of the district ; that is, the town- 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 41 

ship. By the amendatory act of 1857, if the sum so esti?- 
mated was less than two mills on the dollar of the tax- 
a])le property of the district, the board had power to 
determine the tax ; but if in their opinion more than the 
amount of a two mill tax was requisite, they must call a 
special meeting of the voters to decide whether such greater 
tux should be levied. By the act of 1853, if the board 
judged it necessary or desirable to establish one or more 
central or high schools, the question was to be decided by a 
meeting of the voters of the district, who should decide the 
amount of township tax which might be levied for the pur- 
pose. The board of education had power to order a tax of 
not over two mills on the dollar for the purpose of sustain- 
ing the teachers in such school, or for the purpose of pro- 
longing, after the state funds were exhausted, the terms of 
the several sub-district schools in the township. Every city 
or village of three hundred inhabitants was made a distinct 
school district, with its own board of education, who had 
the same powers of taxation as the township boards. 

In 1861, the local school tax was limited to three mills for 
all purposes, except purchase of sites, erection of houses, and 
payment of debts. In 1862, the local tax for school and 
school house purposes was limited to two mills and three- 
fourths. In 1864, the limit was three mills. In 1867, the 
limit was two mills for sites, houses, and repairs, and three 
mills for all other purposes, with authority, however, to add 
one mill for the years 1867 and 1868. 

The act of 1873 authorizes every board of education in the 
State to determine the amount of tax to be levied as a con- 
tingent fund for all school expenses, not exceeding seven 
mills on the dollar. This act also authorizes a board of 
education to borrow money " to obtain or improve public 
school property." This phrase seems to include every ex- 
penditure except the payment of salaries. The board may 
issue bonds for the loan, but not to a greater amount in one 
4 



42 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

year than would equal two mills on the dollar of the tax- 
able property of the district. It is provided that the order 
of the board issuing bonds must be by a majority of the 
whole l)oard, and the names of those voting for and against 
must be recorded on the journal. 

Whenever the board of education deem it necessary to 
expend more money for purchase of sites or building houses 
than they are authorized to raise by taxation, they may 
submit the question of a loan and the tax necessary to repay 
it to the qualified voters of the district. The law as it now 
stands provides for no other tax question to be submitted to 
public vote, and cities of over one hundred and fifty thou- 
sand inhabitants are excepted from this. This exception 
applies now only to Cincinnati. The law details the mode 
of issuing bonds, limiting the rate of interest to eight per 
centum per annum. 

It was not possible to reorganize the districts in 1853, 
without some provision to do justice to those districts which 
had already expended large sums in the erection of school 
houses, and which, being merged in a township district, 
became liable to assessment to build houses for their neigh- 
bors who were l)ehindhand in that respect. Therefore, the 
board of education was authorized to estimate separately the 
expense of site and house for any particular sub-district 
where the inhabitants had borne less than their reasonable 
share of taxation for such purposes, as compared with the 
other sub-districts of the township. The design was to 
make a temporary arrangement, and the section was amend- 
ed several times to carry out this intent. It is omitted en- 
tirely in the revised act of 1873. 

Having now hastily sketched the legislation of a gener- 
al character, from the origin of the State to this time, on 
the subject of providing money for the support of common 
schools in Ohio, it is proper to close this l)ranch of our his- 
tory with the following statement of the sums raised in the 
year 1875, for one year's expenditure : 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 43 

State tax, 1 mill $1,597,599 

Interest on irreducible funds 209,856 

Rents and interest on deferred payments for land 

(estimated) 20,000 

District taxes 6,362,533 

Fines and licences 270,161 

Total $8,460,149 



SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

The school district is the simplest element of the common 
school system of Ohio. Its formation was the first thing in 
the legislation for the purpose of organizing the common 
schools. In 1806, fifteen years before any law for the regu- 
lation of common schools, trustees of original surveyed 
townships were authorized to lay off said townships into 
proper divisions for the purpose of establisliing schools, in 
such manner as would best suit the convenience of the 
inhabitants. This was repeated in several subsequent 
enactments. 

The law of 1821 authorized the trustees of any civil town- 
ship to submit to a vote of the township the question of 
organizing into school districts. In laying off the districts, 
regard was to be paid to any incorporated school company, 
in order to include the members within one district. Pro- 
vision was made for districts composed of parts of two town- 
ships. Without a township vote a district might be laid of! 
on petition of the inhabitants of a neighborhood. No dis- 
trict was to be made with less than twelve resident house- 
holders. The householders in each district were to elect 
each year a committee of three, a collector who should be 
treasurer, and a clerk to make the tax bills and keep the 
accounts. The committee were authorized to cause the 
erection of a school house, and to receive for that purpose a 



44 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

lot not exceeding two acres, by donation or purchase, two- 
thirds of the householders having agreed thereto. No pro- 
vision was made for tax to purchase a lot, and if school lots 
were purchased before 1838, the price was raised by vol- 
untary donation. Except the collector, who was also district 
treasurer, no township or district officer was to receive any 
compensation for services performed under this act. 

Governor Morrow, in his annual message, December, 1823, 
said that the provisions of this law were " rendered nuga- 
tory by the option given to the electors in the several 
townships, to give them effect or not." The act of 1825 had 
quite a different tone. It declared it the duty of the trustees 
of every incorporated township in the State, to lay off the 
township into one or more school districts, suitable and 
convenient, with due regard to school houses and districts 
already made, also to incorporated school companies and to 
schools in villages and towns. No township could receive 
any portion tff the school tax until districted, and if it 
remained undistricted five years, it was the duty of the 
county auditor to divide the school tax collected in such a 
township among the organized districts in other townships 
of his county. The law imposing this duty upon the town- 
ship trustees was re-enacted five times within the next 
thirteen years. The penalty for failure to obey within a 
limited number of years, was also repeated in several laws, 
but it was omitted in 1838, and has never been renewed 
since. 

In the act of 1838, it was made the duty of the trustees 
of the townships not already districted, to lay off their town- 
ships into school districts on or before the next first day of 
June, in the manner most convenient for the population and 
different neighborhoods, pajdng due regard to any school 
house already erected, school districts already laid off, and 
all other circumstances proper to be considered, so as to pro- 
mote the interest of the inhabitants and also to include all 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 45 

the territory of the township. The time for laying off dis- 
tricts was extended in 1839 and in 1841. In 1849, authority 
was given to the township trustees to district the township 
at any time thereafter. The duty of the township trustees 
to lay off districts was once more enacted, in 1851, to be done 
in the manner best calculated for the convenience of the 
inhabitants and to promote the interests of common schools. 

In 1825, provision was made for districts composed of 
parts of several townships by the joint action of the several 
boards of trustees. In 1841, this was amended so that such 
a district could be made only on the petition of a majority 
of the citizens in the contemplated district. In 1843, dis- 
tricts composed of parts of several counties were authorized. 

Power to alter the boundaries of school districts was given 
to the township trustees in 1825. This was amended in 
1839, so as to forbid any alteration in a district, unless a 
majority of the householders of the district signified their 
assent in Avriting; but this amendment was repealed in 
1842. In 1850, any future alteration of a district, so as to 
include in one district parts of several townships or counties, 
was forbidden. In 1851, the trustees were authorized, at the 
request of five freeholders and after twenty days public no- 
tice, to make, alter, or abolish a school district. 

The act of 1825 required the township trustees to describe 
and number the districts. The description and numbering 
were recorded by the clerk of the township, and a copy of the 
record given to the county auditor. The same duty was de- 
volved upon the clerk when the trustees made any changes 
in the districts. This was altered in 1838, by requiring a 
map as well as a description of the district ; and, with verb- 
al changes only, these requirements remained in force till 
1853. In that year, it became the duty of the township board 
of education to have a map made of the township as often 
as they deem it necessary, and the board had entire control 
over the boundaries of the sub-districts. 



46 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The act of 1825 authorized any householder resident in 
a newly formed district to call a meeting for the purpose of 
electing three directors, and to " do all other things neces- 
sary for organizing a school." It was his duty to notify all 
the householders in the district of the time and place of 
meeting, and if one-third of them were present it was a 
legal meeting. This was amended in 1831, by making ten 
householders a quorum of a district meeting in a district 
having over thirty householders. In 1838, the voters present 
were authorized to transact the business, the rule as to a 
quorum being omitted. 

Householders only could constitute the district meeting 
under the law of 1825. In 1827, tax-payers were admitted 
to vote when a tax question was to be voted upon, and in 
1839, resident tax-payers as well as householders were enti- 
tled to vote in all elections. By the first constitution of 
Ohio, every white male adult inhabitant who paid or was 
charged with a state or county tax, was entitled to vote in 
all elections; and laws were so framed, long before any of 
these school laws, as practically to include as tax-payers all 
white male adults. In some of the laws for taking a vote 
upon the question of selling school lands, alien residents 
were expressly mentioned as entitled to vote. The state 
constitution of 1851 gives the right of suffrage to white male 
adult citizens, and the school laws since that time use the 
expression "qualified voters." Since the amendment to tlio 
national constitution in 1870, the right to vote cannot bo 
denied on account of color. 

Besides the general delegation of powers to the district 
meeting by the act of 1825, the meeting was specially au- 
thorized to designate the site of a school-house. In 1836, the 
consent of two-thirds of all the voters at a district meeting 
was made requisite to sanction the sale of a school house — 
changed to a simple majority in 1848. We have also noticed 
the laws requiring a direct appeal to the will of the voters 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 47 

on questions of taxation, sale of lands, and alteration of 
districts, and we see that action by the popular meeting was 
more frequent forty or fifty years ago than it is at present. 
By the law of 1838, it was the duty of the directors to make 
an annual written report to the district meeting, and to per- 
form all lawful acts required by that meeting. 

The act of 1825 provided for three directors to hold office 
for one year, who were the only district officers. In 1842, the 
term was made three years, one director to be elected each 
year. In 1827, the directors were authorized to appoint a 
treasurer, and in 1829, a day was fixed as the time of the an- 
nual district meeting — the third Tuesday in October — when 
three directors, a treasurer, and a clerk should be elected. In 
1838, the time of the annual meeting was changed to the 
third Friday in Septeml^er, and remained bo for ten years. 
Since 1848, it has been the second Monday in April. In 
1829, the directors were authorized to call special meetings 
to decide questions involving taxation, and this ix)wer re- 
mained with the directors till the districts became sub-dis- 
tricts in 1853. From 1831 to 1838, if the annual meeting 
failed for want of a quorum, or if the annual meeting failed 
to elect officers, then any householder was authorized to call 
a special meeting as in the case of the first organization of 
a district, and such called meetings could elect officers and 
exercise all the powers of annual meetings. 

The act of 1838 devolved the duties of district treasurer 
upon the district clerk. The clerk was to be elected by the 
directors from their own number. This method of having 
the directors elect one of themselves district clerk, remains 
in force. The directors were elected for one year until 1842. 
Since that time they have been elected for terms of three 
years, one each year. The separate office of district treasurer 
was restored in 1851, but the law of 1853 made no separate 
8ub-district fund, and the office was discontinued. 

There was evidently an unwillingness on the part of com- 
petent men to accej^t these offices. In 1830, the law imposed 



48 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the same penalties for refusal to serve as in the ease of town- 
ship trustees, but no one should be compelled to serve two 
years in succession. The township trustees were authorized, 
in 1833, to appoint district directors in case of vacancy. This 
power was given to the township clerk in 1838, and the law 
in that particular is so now. In 1830, the district officers 
were required to take an oath of office, and the next year it 
was made the duty of the district clerk to verify, by oath or 
affirmation, his enumeration of the youth of the district. 
Both of these requirements were repealed in 1833. The oath 
of office was restored in 1838 ; but it was not until 1873 
that the law again required the officer making the enumera- 
tion to verify the same by his oath or affirmation. 

The most important clause in any school law is that which 
declares who shall appoint the teacher. This power was 
given to the district committee by the act of 1821, and this 
feature of the school laws of Ohio has never been changed. 
In 1825, it was made the duty of the directors to employ 
teachers. This was repeated in 1853, when the former dis- 
tricts became sub-districts, and in the act of 1873 it was 
made the duty of the local directors, in every toAvnship dis- 
trict, to employ teachers. 

The district committee, under the law of 1821, had power 
to build a school house, to employ a teacher, and to make 
assessments for expenses. It was the duty of the directors, 
under the law of 1825, to employ a teacher, to manage and 
superintend the concerns of the school, to call district meet- 
ings, to receive and expend all funds, and they, or any two 
of them, had power tO make agreements for these purposes. 
In 1838, the powers of management and superintendence 
were expressed more in detail — to divide the district into sub- 
districts, to select and purchase sites for houses, to repair he 
houses and keep them in order, to provide fuel and to levy 
a small tax for repairs and fuel, to establish schools and to 
make regulations for their government, to classify the schools 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 49 

and assign children of different ages to attend at dif- 
ferent seasons of the year/ They must also perform all other 
lawful acts required by the district meeting or necessary to 
carry into effect the provisions of the law. Their annual 
written report to the district meeting must state the receipts 
and expenses, schools, teachers, salaries, number of pupils, 
branches taught, and other useful information. They were 
authorized to determine the branches taught in the schools, 
provided that instruction in reading, writing, and arithmetic 
should be given in the English language. 

This rule as to the language was changed several times. 
In 1839, power was given the directors to determine the 
branches and languages taught, " provided the branches 
shall be such as are generally taught in common schools." 
This phrase has the air of a legislative compromise. The 
act also provided that children who desired to pursue their 
studies in German might go to another district for that 
purpose, and the same privilege Avas accorded to those who 
desired to pursue them in English, when there was no 
proper school in the district where they resided. 

The law of 1825 did not stop with prescribing the duty of 
directors to employ a teacher, but also affixed a penalty for 
neglect of this duty. The same section which ordered the 
share of tax of undistricted townships to be distributed to 
the rest of the county, also ordered that when a district neg- 
lected for three years to employ a teacher, its share of the 
tax should be divided among the other districts of the town- 
ship. Four years later, every district was required to keep a 
school in session at least three months every year, as a con- 
dition of receiving its share of money from the county treas- 
ury. The penalty for failure to have a school in session was 
omitted from the laws from 1838 to 1865. 

The powers of taxation by local directors have been stated 
in previous pages. The disbursement of the funds of the 
district was given to the directors by the law of 1825, and 



50 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

when two years afterward it was made their duty to appoint 
a treasurer, he was under their control and removable at 
their pleasure. The principal duty of the, district treasurer 
was the collection of district taxes. Detailed rules for per- 
forming this service, and as to his bond and his accounts, 
were given in the act of 1829, and repeated with little varia- 
tion in subsequent laws. The funds distributed by the 
county were not paid into the hands of the district officers 
from 1825 to 1829, but were retained in the county treasury 
and paid directly to teachers on the certificate of the direc- 
tors. After that, the moneys distributed by the county, or 
by the State from interest on the land funds, were paid 
directly to the district treasurers till 1838. The law of that 
year made the township treasurer the treasurer of all school 
funds of the township arising from lands, fines, interest, taxes, 
or state distributions, and he was to pay out the share of each 
district to the teachers, upon the order of the district clerk 
and one other director. This left all other school expenses 
to be provided for by district assei^sments or voluntary con- 
tributions. The district treasurer, who was clerk, could pay 
out the moneys in his hands only upon the written order of 
the clerk — -to-wit, himself — and one other director. This 
Avas amended, in 1842, so that any two directors constituted 
a quorum for business and were authorized to draw all orders 
for money. In 1851, the signature of the clerk was again 
made requisite. 

The law of 1838 constituted a separate school district of 
every incorporated city or town. Several cities and towns 
of the State already had in their charters special laws for 
the regulation of their pul)lic schools. Each city or town, 
except those governed by special laws, was to elect every 
year three school directors, who were to exercise the same 
powers and duties as other school directors, Avith especial 
authority to establish schools of different grades. The town- 
ship trustees were authorized, with the consent of these 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 51 

directors, to attach adjacent parts of the township to the 
town school district. The clerk of the city or town was to 
be clerk of such town district, but not with the duties of 
treasurer. This was changed ten years afterwards, and the 
directors were authorized to elect one of their own number 
clerk, as in other districts. If the town were divided into 
sub-districts, then there might be one director elected from 
each sub-district. 

In 1839, it was made the duty of the directors of town 
districts to provide evening schools for the instruction of 
young men and boys over twelve years of age who might be 
prevented by their occupations from attending the day 
schools. 

From the earliest legislation about schools in Ohio, there 
has been a marked distinction between the laws for towns 
and those for rural districts. Beginning with 1808, the Gen- 
eral Assembly every year granted charters of incorporation 
to several school companies ; and in 1818 a general law was 
enacted whereby any six or more persons, associating them- 
selves for the purpose of establishing a school, might be- 
come incorporated. Such schools were usually located in towns. 
Special acts of incorporation were afterwards enacted, and 
special and local laws were made every year, not only as to 
school lands, leases, and sales, but also as to local taxes for 
building houses, establishing libraries, or other purposes, 
and as to the powers and duties of officers, and even the 
boundaries of districts. One of the most important of these 
local laws was passed in 1847, " for the support and better 
regulation of common schools in the town of Akron." The 
next year, any town or city was authorized to adopt this act 
whenever two-thirds of the voters should petition the 
council to that effect. In 1849, a somewhat similar law was 
passed for the regulation of schools in cities and towns, 
which was to take eifect in an}' city or town when a majority 
of the electors voted for it at an election held for that pur- 



52 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

pose. For a better account of these laws and of the more 
important laws relating to schools in particular towns an<l 
cities, the reader is referred to the chapters on Graded Schools 
and High Schools. 

The general school law of 1853 begins with the declara- 
tion that every township in the State shall compose but one 
school district for all purposes connected with the general 
interests of education in the township. The districts of all 
previous laws were thenceforth sub-districts. All cities and 
villages of 300 inhabitants, with the territory annexed for 
school j)urposes, were excluded from the townships. If they 
were organized under the Akron law, or under the law of 
1849, or under any special law, they remained unchanged 
by the law of 1853, except as to the duty to make annual 
reports of statistics. If they were not organized under 
either the Akron law, the law of 1849, or other special 
law, they were to be organized very much in the manner 
provided for such districts by the law of 1838. The board 
of education was to consist of three persons elected for terms of 
three years, one each year. The clerk or recorder of the 
city or village was to be clerk of the board. Here the 
previous history was repeated, for in 1862, the boards were 
authorized to appoint one of their own number clerk. They 
were to exercise the same powers and perform the same 
duties as other boards of education. The limit as to sex in 
the attendance at evening schools, for all youth whose avoca- 
tions prevented them from attending day schools, was omitted 
in 1853, and the limit as to age was omitted in 1873. 

The mode of organization of the sub-district of a town- 
ship district, remained, under the law of 1853, the same as it 
had been for the district, as to number of directors, their 
term of office, the oath, the filling of vacancies by appoint- 
ment by the township clerk, the calling of special meetings, 
and the election of clerk by the directors from their own 
number. With slight amendments, these provisions of the 
law remain in force. 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 53 

The township board of education consisted, and still con- 
Hiists, of the township clerk and the clerks of the several 
subdistricts, the township clerk being clerk of the board 
)>ut not entitled to vote. 

The local directors retained the power to employ teachers, 
and to certify to the township clerk the amount due teachers 
for services, and it was the duty of the latter officer to draw 
an order on the treasurer of the township for the amount. 
To this was added the jxjwer to dismiss any teacher at any 
time, for such reasons as they might deem sufficient. The 
act of 1873 authorizes the local directors to employ teachers of 
the schools of the sub-districts, and to dismiss them for suffi- 
cient cause ; and they "also have power to fix the salaries or 
pay of said teachers, which salaries or pay may be increased 
but not diminished in amount by the township board." 
The law of 1853 made it the duty of the local directors to 
make all necessary contracts for fuel, purchasing or leasing 
school house sites, renting school r(X)ms, and making all 
other provisions necessary for the schools in their sub-dis- 
tricts. The only limit to this power was that the expense 
should not exceed the money distributable to the sub-dis- 
trict in proportion to its number of scholars, without first 
obtaining the consent of the township board of education. 
This was so amended in 1873 that all these duties of the 
local directors are performed " under such rules and regula- 
tions as the township board of education may prescribe. " 

The law of 1853 made every township board of education 
an incorporated body, as every board of directors had been 
since 1829 ; but the local directors, after 1853, were no longer 
incorporated. The title to all houses, sites, libraries, and 
all other school property of the township was vested in the 
board of education, with power to control the same to the 
best interests of the cause of education, and to sell unneces- 
sary houses and sites. The regular meetings of the board 
are held in April and October, at or near the place of hold- 



54 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ing township elections. They may hold other meetings at 
their pleasure, and since 1873, special meetings may be 
called either by the clerk, by the president of the board, 
or by any two members, and may l)e held at any place in 
the township. 

The board of education has control of any central or high 
school that may be established in the township, with power 
to employ, pay, or dismiss teachers, to build, repair, and fur- 
nish houses, to buy or lease building sites, or to rent rooms, 
or to do whatever else may be needed for such a school. High 
schools, before 1873, could only l)e estal)lished by a vote of 
the township; but now the l)oard of education have power 
to establish schools of higher grade than the primary schools 
whenever they deem it proper. 

The township board of education have power to change 
the sub-districts at any regular session, and it is now their 
duty to establish a primary school in each sub-district. 
Before 1873, it was their duty to establish in each sub-dis- 
trict a school of such grade as the public good might ro- 
quire ; and they might regulate the grading of the scholars 
among the several schools. The act of 1853 provided for 
residents of one township attending school in another, 
when so situated as to be better accommodated in that 
Avay. Further, to meet such cases, in 1865, the formation 
of sub-districts composed of parts of several townshijis 
was authorized, and this was afterwards extended to allow 
sub-districts composed of parts of several counties. The act 
of 1859 provides for the united action of a village and town- 
ship in establishing a central or high school, and the law of 
1873 allows the transfer of a part or the whole of any school 
district to an adjoining school district, liy consent of lx)th 
boards. 

The law of 1853 made it the duty of the local directors to 
visit the schools at least twice each term, with such persons 
competent to examine pupils in their studies as they may 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 55 

choose to invite ; but the power to suspend a pupil for dis- 
orderly conduct was reserved to the board of education, 
unless the board authorized the directors also to exercise 
this power. The board had general powers to regulate t] e 
schools, and wbenover the local directors neglected their pre- 
scribed duties, iA\e board might exercise the special powers 
of directors in the sub-district. The board could also deter- 
mine the studies to be pursued and the books to be used. 
The exercise of this power over text books was restricted in 
1871, so as to prevent frequent changes. We shall speak 
hereafter of the power of the board to appoint a manager or 
superintendent. In all these details, it is seen how much 
jjower has been concentrated in the township board. 
The tendency of legislation continues in the same direction. 
The present state constitution, adopted in 1851, has been 
understood to forbid local legislation as to schools, but to 
permit the local laws previously enacted to remain in force 
till repealed by the General Assembly. Laws previously 
enacted for the government of schools in several cities, 
towns, villages, and even country districts, remained in force 
till 1873. The Akron laAV also Avas in force in many places, 
and the law of 1849 in many others. The constitution also 
sanctioned school laws, to take effect upon the approval (^f 
local authorities, or upon adoption by vote of a district. An 
act was passed in 1867, providing for the formation of separate 
school districts, composed of one or more sub-districts, upon 
a vote of the majorit)^ of the voters. All of these acts were 
repealed by the act of 1873, and in their place a system was 
enacted which recognizes several distinct kinds of school 
districts ; viz., city districts of the first class, being cities of 
over ten thousand inhaliitants ; city districts of the second 
class, being all other cities : village districts ; townshi]) 
districts; and special districts, being those not included in 
the other classes, and which have lieen established by a vote 
of the people, or by some general or local law. Each district 



56 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

includes the territory attached to it according to law for 
school purposes. 

The board of education of first class cit}^ districts consists 
of one or two members from each ward, elected for terms of 
two years, one-half each year. Such boards are required to 
hold meetings every two weeks, and they have power to fill 
vacancies that may occur in their number. The board of 
education of a second class city district, or of a village dis- 
trict, consists of three or six members, according as the 
district had a board of three or six members previous to the 
passage of the law, elected for terms of three years, one-third 
each year ; but such board has power to make the number 
of its members the same as the number of wards in the city, 
and in that case, they are elected for terms of two years, one- 
half each year. Where the number is three, it may be 
incased to six, by vote of the district. 

The board in a special district consists of three members. 
Any special district is authorized, by vote of the people, to 
abandon its organization and become part of the township 
district in which it is located. The township board is 
organized as under the law of 1853, provided that when a 
township consists of one or two districts, all the directors are 
members of the board. Any township district may decide 
))y vote to be governed in the same manner as a village 
school district — that is, it may abandon the plan of electing 
directors in sub-districts, with two sets of officers and juris- 
dictions more or less in conflict, and may place the control 
of all its school affairs in the hands of one single board 
elected by the whole township. 

The powers and duties of all boards of education are not 
materially changed by the law of 1873, except as above 
stated in the case of township districts. Some strict rules 
are laid down as to the manner of conducting their business. 
Where money is to be paid or received, there must ])e entire 
publicity. Large sales nnist be by public auction duly 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 57 

advertised, and large contracts for labor or materials in 
building or repairs must be awarded to the best bidder after 
due publication. The records of the board must give the 
names of those members voting for or against every proposi- 
tion to purchase or sell any property or to pay any money, 
and upon every appointment to office. No member of any 
])oard is permitted to have any pecuniary interest in any 
conti'act, nor can any member be employed for a compensa- 
tion to discharge any duty except as clerk. The laws of 
Ohio never have provided an}^ compensation to school 
directors or members of boards of education for their services 
as such directors or members, and since 1862 such compen- 
sation is expressly forbidden. 

In 1846, local directors received authority to levy a small 
tax for the purchase of libraries and apparatus, and to make 
rules for their use. In 1853, the State levied a tax of one- 
tenth of a mill for the purchase of libraries and apparatus, 
to be purchased by the State Commissioner and distributed 
through the county auditors to the " clerks of the townships, 
boards of education, or other school local officers." It was 
made the duty of the several boards or local officers to pre- 
serve the books and provide for their use by the families of the 
district or sub-district. This tax was levied for seven years 
and was then repealed. The books were generally scattered 
and lost, except in some townships where the boards of educa- 
tion took pains for their preservation, and except in the towns 
and cities. As there was greatest loss and least use in the 
townships where tlie books were distributed in small lots 
among the sub-districts, the ])oards of education were au- 
thorized, in 1864, to collect all tlie l>ooks of one district in a 
central library. In 1867, the boards of education in cities 
were authorized to levy an annual tax of one-tenth of a 
mill on the dollar, the proceeds to be expended for books for 
a public school library. This act remains in force, and under 
its operation some very large public circulating libraries are 
5 



58 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

growing up under the charge of officers appointed by the 
boards of education. In 1875, all boards of education were 
authorized to appropriate limited sums for the purchase of 
books and apparatus for the especial use of teachers and 
pupils. 

The law of 1858 made it the duty of the township board 
of education to provide for continuing the schools in session 
six months every year. The act of 1873 limits the sessions 
of all common schools in the State to not less than twenty- 
four nor more than forty-four weeks in every year. A school 
month consists of four school weeks, and a school week con- 
sists of five school days. Under the amendatory act of 1864, 
if any board of education failed to estimate and certify to 
the county auditor the amount of tax needed to continue the 
schools of the district for six months, and to provide a suitable 
school-house in every sub-district, it was made the duty of 
the county commissioners to perform said office. The delin- 
quent township, in 1865, also lost its right to a share of the 
state tax, and the members of the board Avho caused the 
failure became personally responsible for the loss. In 1873, 
the rule inflicting the loss on the school district was omitted, 
and the negligent officers were made liable to a fine of from 
twenty-five to fifty dollars, to be paid into the county school 
fund. 

The law of 1853 exempted from sales on execution all 
school lots not over four acres in extent. Twenty 5'ears after? 
the exemption Avas extended to all common school property 
whatever, without limit. In 1860, boards of education were 
authorized, when they needed land for school house purposes 
and could not agree with the owner as to price, to institute 
judicial proceedings for fixing the price and appropriating 
the property. 

The question of what language shall be taught, is disposed 
of in the law of 1873 by making it the duty of every board 
of education to cause German to be taught when demanded 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 59 

by seventy-five freeholders of the district representing not 
less than forty pupils who desire to study German and 
English together, but all branches taught in the common 
schools must be in the English language. 

Every board of education is required to organize on the 
the third Monday of April in each year, by choosing a mem- 
ber for president, and all boards, except in township districts, 
also choose a clerk who may be a member of the board. In 
cities and townships, the city and township treasurer are 
respectively treasurer of the board of education. Other 
boards choose their own treasurer. The present number of 
school districts in the state is 1,942. 



TEACHERS. 

f The legislation especially concerning the teacher relates 
either to employing, examining, educating, or paying him. 
The laws as to employing teachers have been detailed under 
the head of districts. 

From the first schools, the existence of which was recog- 
nized in the act of 1806' relating to original townships, till 
1825, there was no one to judge of a teacher's fitness except 
the parents, and for the last four 3'ears of that time, the 
district committee. The law of 1825 provided a way to 
assist the directors to judge of the competency of a 
teacher. The court of common pleas of each county was 
directed to appoint annually three suitable persons as 
Examiners of common schools, whose duty it was to examine 
every person wishing to be employed as a teacher. The 
number of the examiners was rapidly increased. Two years 
afterwards, the court might appoint as many as it deemed 
expedient, not exceeding the number of organized town- 
ships in the county. After another two years, the number 
Avas not to be less than five nor more than the number 
of townships ; and again, after two years, not more than 



60 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

double the number of townships. In 1834, the number of 
county examiners was fixed at five, and they were to ap- 
point an examiner in each township with power to ex- 
amine only female candidates. The law of 1836 provided 
for the election of three examiners of teachers in every 
township. In 1838, the original number of three county 
examiners was restored, appointed for terms of three years, 
and with power to appoint assistants in distant townships 
who should be governed by the rules prescribed by the 
county examiners. Since 1853 the probate court has ap- 
pointed the three county examiners for terms of two j^ears, 
which was restored to three years in 1873. The act of 1853 
granted no power to the examiners to appoint assistants in 
remote townships. Since 1864, the probate court has had 
power to dismiss an examiner from office for immoral con- 
duct or neglect of duty. By the law of 1873, no teacher of 
a normal school, or school for the education of persons as 
teachers, can be an examiner. 

At first, the certificates issued to those candidates who 
were approved by the examiners were not limited by law. 
In 1829, they might be made valid for one year; after 1834, 
for two years or less. In 1836, the one year limit was 
restored, but in the law of 1838 it was fixed at not more 
than two years nor less than six months. This remains 
still in force, amended in 1873 so that certificates must be 
for either six, twelve, eighteen, or twenty-four months, thus 
ranking teachers in four grades. The Akron law, the laAV 
of 1849 for cities and towns, and various local acts pro- 
vided for local boards of exan)iners to be appointed by th9 
lioards of education. The certificates issued by them were 
not required to be for any limited time until 1864, when the 
law required that such certificates must state the time dur- 
ing which they were to be valid. The act of 1873, super- 
seding all these special acts, authorized boards of education 
of city and village districts having a population not less 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 61 

than twenty-five hundred to appoint a board of three ex- 
aminers, which number might be increased to six or to 
nine in first class city districts. The term of office is 
three years. Certificates may be valid for one, two, or 
three years, and in first class city districts, for two, five, or 
ten years. These city boards of examiners are also author- 
ized to secure the occasional aid of persons of knowledge in 
particular branches to assist them in conducting examina- 
tions. 

At first, a certificate might be granted by a single ex- 
aminer. Since 1829, two are required, or a majority of the 
board when there are more than three examiners ; but 
under the law of 1838, one could examine and issue cer- 
• tificates, if, at the time and place appointed for a regular 
quarterly meeting of the examiners, one only Avas present. 
Before 1873, there might be special meetings; but since 
that year, all examinations must be at convenient places, 
of which public notice must be previously given, and two 
examiners constitute the necessary quorum. 

No person, since 1825, without a certificate from the 
county examiners, could receive any money from the pub- 
lic treasury as wages for teaching ; and since a few years 
after that date, a copy of the certificate must be given 
to the clerk or other officer who audits the teacher's claim 
for pay. 

In 1825, no particular l)ranches were named, a knowledge 
of which should be required by examiners. In 1831, the 
certificate must name the branches which the teacher was 
found qualified to teach, and no certificate should be given 
to any teacher unless he should be found qualified to teach 
" reading, writing, and arithmetic." Within the year this 
was amended to allow certificates to female teachers of their 
qualifications to teach spelling, reading, and Avriting only. 
This lower grade of certificate was omitted in the act of 
1838, and the examiners were required to state what other 



62 EDUCATIOX IN OHIO. 

branches the teacher was found qualified to teach, in addition 
to reading, writing, and arithmetic, and no teacher should 
1)6 allowed to teach any branch not named in the certificate. 
In 1849, it was enacted that upon the written request of as 
many as three householders of a district that English gram- 
mar and geography be taught in the school, it became the 
duty of the directors to provide for such instruction. In 
the same act, the county examiners were forbidden to issue 
any certificate unless the candidate was found qualified to 
teach geography and English grammar in addition to the 
three branches previously requisite. 

The act of 1853 required ever}^ teacher to be qualified to 
teach orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, 
and English grammar. The certificates of teachers of 
schools of higher grade must state the qualification to teach 
the additional branches. To these requirements, it was 
added, in 1864, that the teacher must possess an adequate 
knowledge of the theory and practice of teaching. In 1868, 
it was allowed to insert, in the certificates of teachers in 
German schcM>ls, German grammar in place of English gram- 
mar. The law of 1873 provides for special certificates to 
teachers of special arts or languages. 

The law has always required every certificate to state that 
the examiners find the person to be of good moral character. 
In 1864, authority was given to the examiners to revoke a 
certificate held by an incompetent teacher or by one who 
neglected his duty. 

In 1850, the General Assembly passed a law for the ap- 
pointment of a state board of public instruction. So far as the 
statute book shows, this is one of the most important steps 
in all the history of Ohio school legislation. It provides for 
the election of five members of the board by joint ballot of the 
two houses of the General Assembly, to hold office for terms 
of five years, one to be elected every year. Each member, 
during the last year of his term, was to be styled State Super- 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 63 

intendent of Common Schools, with the duties already 
assigned to that office as to statistics and reports. The 
hoard were to divide the State into four districts, in which 
the several members were to be district superintendents. 
Each one in his district was to aid the county examiners in 
the i)erformance of their duties, and no certificate was to be 
valid without his signature. A list of questions to Ije used 
at the examinations was to be prepared every half year by 
the State Superintendent. Certificates were to be valid for 
one year; but upon the recommendation of a county board 
of examiners, countersigned by the district superintendent, 
the state board might issue a life certificate. Any certificate 
under this law should authorize the holder to teach a pub- 
lic school in any county of the State. This act never 
amounted to anything, because the General Assembly never 
appointed any members of the board. Each applicant for 
a certificate under this law was to pay one dollar, and each 
holder of a life certificate became subject to an annual pro- 
fessional tax of the same amount. These moneys were to 
defray the expenses of the system and of the publication of 
an educational paper to be called the "Ohio School Teacher," 
which was to be sent free to every one holding a certificate 
and to certain school officers. 

This law remained a nullity, and certificates issued by 
county examiners in Ohio have never been valid outside of 
the county in which they were issued, nor have certificates 
issued by any local board of examiners ever been valid out-- 
side of the district. 

In order to provide for a higher grade of certificate, tlje 
amendatory law of 1864 made it the duty of the State Com- 
missioner to appoint a state board of examiners to consist of 
three competent persons who should hold their office fqr 
two years. This state board of examiners are authorized to 
issue " state certificates of high qualifications to such teach' 
ers as may be found upon examination to possess requisite 



64 FDUCATION IN OHIO. 

scholarship, and who may also exhibit satisfactory evidence 
of good moral character and of eminent jsrofessional experi- 
ence and ability." Such certificates are countersigned by 
the State Commissioner. They supersede the necessity of 
examination by any county or local board, being valid 
throughout the State during the life of the holder. This law 
remains in force. 

Every applicant for a state certificate pays to the board a 
fee of three dollars. Since 1864, every applicant for a county 
certificate has been required to pay an examination fee. 
A part of the money is appropriated to the expenses of the 
examiners, but the greater part to the maintenance of 
county and city teachers' institutes. The legislation upon 
the subject of institutes for the instruction of teachers began 
in 1847, with an act to encourage teachers' institutes. An 
accouiit of this law and of all subsequent laws on this sub- 
ject is given so fully in a subsequent chapter as to preclude 
the necessity of any further mention in this place. This is 
all that has been done for the education of teachers in Ohio, 
except the power given to some boards of education to estab- 
lish normal schools. This power has been exercised in some 
cities. For a full account of this, also, the reader is referred 
to a subsequent chapter. 

In 1806, the law authorized the trustees of original town- 
ships to laj^ off the townshijis into districts for the purj^ose 
of establishing schools, and each division was to " receive a 
fair and equitable dividend of the profits arising from the 
reserved section, according to the number of inhabitants." 
This was repeated in 1810, but the division was to be accord- 
ing to the number of scholars and in proportion to the time 
they were taught. Four years later, the teachers were 
required to make certified lists of their scholars as the basis 
of the division, and the next year the clause was added, 
" Avhether the scholars had gone to school within or out of 
the township." This continued to be the duty of the 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 65 

teacher till 1831. There is no other legislation about 
paying the teacher previous to 1821. We may infer, from 
the frequent mention of voluntary contributions in the 
earlier laws, that much was done in that way until many 
years after the date last mentioned. 

The committee, under the law of 1821, might cause the 
expenses of the school to be assessed on the parents or 
guardians in proportion to the number of scholars ; but they 
might remit all or part to parents unable to pay, and the 
deficiency should be raised by tax. The law of 1825 devoted 
the revenue from land and the proceeds of the county tax 
exclusively to pay the Avages of teachers, the toAvnship's 
share of the tax being divided among the districts in pro- 
portion to the number of families in each. The law of 1829 
required the school to be kept open for three months and as 
much longer as the funds Avould pay the teacher, and if the 
funds did not suffice for three months, the residue, "if not 
raised by voluntary subscription," was to be paid by those 
sending in proportion to the number of scholars and time 
they attended. The act of 1831 repeats the above, and 
devotes to the payment of teachers and to no other purpose 
whatever, all money coming to the treasury of any school 
district for the use of schools. In 1833, the directors were 
authorized to apportion the money to divisions of the year 
so as to have a summer school and a Avinter school, and the 
act applied the previous rule to seasons instead of the year. 
This act allowed fuel to be bought with school money when 
the inhabitants neglected or refused to furnish it, thus in- 
fringing upon the rule which kept the fund sacred to the pay 
of teachers. In the same way, in 1836, the pay for taking 
the annual enumeration of youth Avas charged to this fund. 
The act of 1838 appears to restore it — the toAvnship treasurer 
being then made treasurer of all funds except district 
taxes, and it Avas his duty to pay out the money to teachers, 
no other purpose being named. 



66 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The law of 1838 omitted the sul)jeet of assessments ; but it 
was enacted in 1839 that when the public funds were insuffi- 
cient to support the school as long as the directors desired 
in any one year, the residue, if not raised by voluntary sub- 
scription, should be paid by those sending scholars in pro- 
portion to number and time. The teacher was to keep an 
account, and if the charges were not paid, the treasurer 
should collect the amount as other district taxes were col- 
lected ; but it was expressly provided that no youth should 
on any pretence be refused admittance to school on account 
of inability to pay tuition. This section of the act was 
amended in 1848, making it the duty of the district clerk to 
ascertain the proportion to be paid by those sending to 
school, and to exclude from the calculation and apportion- 
ment the attendance of those whose admission was secured 
by the proviso of the amended section. There is no subse- 
quent legislation about assessments on parents or guardians. 
The law of 1853 proceeds upon the principle that the schools 
of the State are to be supported entirely by the property of 
the State. 

The devotion of certain funds to the pay of teachers is thus 
precisely stated in the act of 1853 : 

" So much of the school moneys coming into the hands of the treas- 
urer as may be derived from the state tax or from any township tax 
levied for the continuation of schools after the state fund has been 
exhausted, or from such school funds as arise from the sale or rents of 
section sixteen, or other school lands, shall be applicable only to the 
payment of teachers in the proper townsliip, and shall be drawn for no 
other purpose Avhatever. " 

The act of 1873, superseding all the above, makes no dis- 
tinction in school funds as to their purpose — apparently 
assuming that there no longer exists any necessity for such 
separation. 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 67 



SUPERINTENDENCE. 



The first clause in any law of Ohio that contemplated any- 
thing like siij^ervision, was in the act of 1825. Any one or 
more of the county examiners of teachers might visit the 
schools in the county and examine the same, and give advice 
relative to discipline and mode of instruction. In the 
revision of the law in 1831, the clause as to advice was 
omitted. In 1838, their powers aside from examination of 
candidates were confined to determining what were good 
text-books and recommending the same. 

The first formal effort to secure supervision was made in 
1837, in the law to create the office of Superintendent of 
Common Schools of the State of Ohio.. This officer was to bo 
elected by a joint resolution of the General Assemby, for 
the term of one year, at a salary of five hundred dollars. He 
was required to take an oath of office to discharge the duties 
of the office with fidelity. 

His duties were principally to collect statistics and report 
to the next General Assembly the following facts : the iium- 
])er of districts in each township of each county of the State ;■ 
the number of white youth between the ages of four and 
twenty-one years, specifying the number of each sex ; the 
number attending school within the year ; the average time 
of their attendance ; the time the schools were in session.^ 
distinguishing the time they were supported by the pro- 
ceeds of the irreducible funds, the time supported by taxa- 
tion, and the time supported by voluntary subscriptions ; 
the amount paid to teachers in each district, township, and 
county, and from what sources derived; the amount paid for 
houses or repairs,, distinguishing the anwunt from taxation 
and that from voluntary contribution. He was also to 
report upon the condition of the several school funds, and 
upon the operation and effects of the commoiij school system,, 
and to suggest plans for its better regulation and improve- 



68 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ment. The law authorized circulars to county auditors and 
to local directors, and made it their duty to assist. 

Next to the great influence upon jiuhlic sentiment exerted 
by Mr. Lewis during the first year of his sui^erintendency, 
the principal result of his labors appears in the school law 
of 1838. This act provided a more elaborate S3^stem of super- 
vision and statistical reports. The township clerk of every 
township was made superintendent of the common school.s 
in his township, and it became his duty to take, in every 
.«;econd year, the enumeration of all the white unmarried 
youth in each district of the town-^hip, male and female, 
between the ages of four and twenty years, and to deposit 
with the county auditor a copy of the list. 

Upon the establishment of the various land funds in 1828, 
it had become necessary to make a rule for the distribution 
of the interest on these funds. The rents in the original sur- 
veyed townships had been distributed to the districts, at 
first, in proportion to the number of inhabitants ; then in 
proportion to number of pupils attending school and time 
of attendance, and for several years in proportion to the 
number of families. In 1831, an enumeration was ordered 
to be taken annually, by every district clerk, of the unmar- 
ried white youth between the ages of four and twenty-on(^ 
years. A rej)ort of this enumeration was to be made to the 
auditor of the county. The report was to state in what 
original surveyed township or in what school land district 
the school district was situated, as well as in what civil 
township. These numbers were the basis upon which the 
interest was distributed by the county auditors. In 1836, it 
was made the duty of all county auditors to report the num- 
ber of school children to the Auditor of State. 

The law of 1838 made the township clerk superintendent of 
the common schools of his township, and the county auditor 
superintendent of the common schools of the county. Jt 
was made the duty of the township superintendent to visit 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 69 

every common school in the township at least once a year, 
to examine the teacher's record, and all other matters he 
deemed important "touching the situation, discipline, mode 
of teaching, and imjirovemcnt thereof. " If the local direc- 
tors whom he appointed in case of vacancy or failure to 
elect, refused or neglected to act, he was to exercise the duties 
of the board of directors, for which he became entitled to 
compensation out of the funds of the district. 

The teacher's record referred to was a book to be provided 
by the district clerk, in which it was the duty of the teacher- 
to enter the names of all the children, their ages, the date 
each one entered the school, length of time each one con- 
tinued in school, and a tal)le showing daily attendance. 
This book was to be open to the inspection of all persons 
interested. It was the duty of the teacher, as often as once 
in three months, to make an abstract of this record showing 
the whole number of boys and of girls enrolled and their 
average daily attendance, and to deposit the same with the 
clerk. It was unlawful to pay the teacher more than two- 
thirds the amount due for teaching, until this abstract was 
deposited. 

It was the duty of the township superintendent to make 
the enumeration of all the unmarried white youth of the 
township between the ages of four and twenty years, and 
report it to the county auditor every second year. He was 
also to report to the county auditor, every year, an abstract 
of the district reports, showing the number of schools ; the 
number of teachers, males and female; wages paid to each ; 
length of school session in each district; number of pupils 
enrolled, male and female ; average daily attendance ; houses 
built and cost of each ; value and quantity of school land in 
or belonging to the township and its annual rent ; and 
such other information as might be thought important. 
His further duties in relation to taxes have ]:)een stated 
on a previous page. 



70 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

It was made the duty of the county auditor, as county 
superintendent of common schools, to apportion the various 
funds according to law — the state fund and all fines and 
other moneys that were by law paid to the county treasurer 
for school purposes, among the townships and districts in 
proportion to the enumeration of youth ; the county tax, to 
each township the sum levied on the property of that 
township, among the districts thereof in proportion to num- 
ber of youth ; the interest on school land funds to the school 
districts of the proper original surveyed township or other 
land district in proportion to the number of youth. These 
have always been the rules for distribution of these distri- 
butable funds. It was also the duty of the auditor to collect 
the fines and all other moneys payable for school purposes 
in his county, and to take all proper measures to secure to 
each township its full amount of school funds. 

The auditor of the county was also required to make an 
annual report to the State Superintendent, giving an 
abstract of all the reports made to him from the several 
townships according to such form as the State Superinten- 
dent might prescribe. He was also to distribute to the 
townships and districts such circulars and blank forms as 
that officer might require. He was to be paid "from the 
county treasury, " not from any school fund. This has been 
the rule generally in paying this officer, also in paying 
county and other treasurers for services connected Avith 
school funds. 

The duties of the county auditor as superintendent of 
common schools have almost exclusive reference to finances 
and statistics, and not to any supervision of schools. Under 
all subsequent laws, these continue to be the duties of the 
county auditor. 

The term of office of the State Superintendent was 
extended to five years by the act of 1838. Mr. Lewis re- 
signed in 1840. The office Avas then abolished, and the 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 71 

duties devolved upon the Secretary of State. The salar}^ of 
the office was increased to twelve hundred dollars. The 
duties as to collection of statistics and annual report were 
substantially the same as by the act of 1837. 

It was also made the duty of the State Superintendent to 
ascertain and report the condition of all school lands in the 
the State, with the amount of funds due each township from 
lands and interest ; to ascertain what lands were yet due to 
different townships, under the legislation of Congress, and to 
take measures to secure the location of such lands; and to 
furnish to the various school officers and to teachers forms 
for keejiing their accounts and records and for making their 
reports. It was also his duty to investigate all trust funds 
and property for the support of education, except such as 
belong to chartered colleges, and he was authorized to 
examine books and papers of any trustee, and to institute 
legal proceedings in the name of the State of Ohio to enforce 
the faithful discharge of all trusts. One other duty was 
given to this officer in the following words : 

" He shall cause to be printed for one year from and after the pas- 
sage of this act, at the seat of government, a periodical to be called the 
' Ohio Common School Director ;' a sufficient of said paper shall be 
published at the expense of the state, at six different periods within 
the year, to furnish at least one to every district, which paper shall also 
be distributed by the township clerks ; and the district clerk shall 
suffer all officers and residents of the district, and all the teachers of 
schools in his district, to have access to said paper, and to read the 
same to the schools, if they think proper; in said paper shall be 
printed all the forms to be observed in the different school depart- 
ments, with such directions and explanations as may be deemed im- 
portant ; also statistical and other information, and such other articles, 
original or selected, as shall be thought most useful in promoting the 
cause of common school education. " 

The township trustees were authorized, by the amenda- 
tory act of 1839, to excuse the clerk from the duty of visiting 
the schools, or they might allow him a compensation for 
that duty not exceeding one dollar per district each year. 



72 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

This was amended, in 1851, to make it his duty to visit the 
schools when directed by the township trustees. With this 
exception, the legal duties of superintendence remained 
nearly unchanged till the year 1853. An act of 1842 
directed the State Superintendent to i:>repare and publish 
an edition of laws relating to common schools, with notes, 
directions, and forms for the guidance of count}^, township, 
and district officers. This act names the officer "Superin- 
tendent, " though the office had been abolished two 
years. The act of 1848 speaks of this officer as " Secretary 
of State. " These two acts contained many details intended 
to perfect the system of statistics and reports. The teacher 
was required to make his abstract and deliver it to the 
township treasurer on presenting his claim for wages, and 
he was to include a statement of the amount received for 
tuition from other than public funds. Until this report 
was made the treasurer was forbidden to pay the teacher. 
In 1851, it was made the duty of the district clerk to report 
to the annual district meeting a summary of the proceed- 
ings of the directors, number of schools, length of time in 
session, teachers, salaries, taxes, houses, and libraries-. The 
officers of city schools and of all special districts were re- 
quired to report the same as the officers of townshijj dis- 
tricts. 

In 1847, a law was passed allowing the appointment of a 
county superintendent of schools in certain counties. Very 
few counties ever acted under this law, and it has been 
repealed. No general law for county superintendence has 
ever been enacted 1)y the General Assembly of Ohio. 

The act of 1853, setting aside all previous laws on this 
subject, authorized every board of education to appoint one 
of their own number acting manager of the schools of the 
township, and to prescribe his duties as to management and 
supervision. Boards of education in city districts, under this 
law, had no authority to ai)point any person superintendent 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 73 

who was not a member of the board, but it was customary 
to do so. The special laws for schools in various cities au- 
thorized such appointments. The act of 1873, codifying all 
these, authorizes any board of education to appoint a super- 
intendent of schools. The act also authorizes the appoint- 
ment of a superintendent of buildings, janitors, and other 
officers. 

The report required of the teacher at the expiration of 
every term by the act of 1853, was to give the number of 
pupils admitted, male and female, average attendance, books 
used, branches taught, and number of pupils in each branch 
of study. Without such report no wages could be paid. 
The act of 1873 places the teachers and superintendents 
under the direction of the boards of education in the matter 
of reports. The board of every city district of the first class 
is required to publish an annual report on the condition 
of the schools, including their financial affairs. 

The law of 1853 required the local directors to take or 
cause to be taken, every year, the enumeration of the un- 
married youth of the sub-district between the ages of five 
and twenty-one years, noting white and colored, male and 
female, permanent and temporary residents, and to return a 
certified copy to the township clerk. The boards of educa- 
tion in all districts except township districts were charged 
with the same duty. The act of 1873 devolved this duty 
upon the clerk of the sub-district in township districts, and 
upon the clerk of the board of education in all other dis- 
tricts. The age was again changed to between six and 
twenty-one years, and those above sixteen years of age must 
be given separately. If the school district or sub-district is 
composed of parts of several original surve3'ed townships or 
land districts, the enumeration must be taken for each part 
separately. Abstracts of these enumerations are reported 
through the county auditor to the State Commissioner of 
Common Schools, and by him to the Auditor of State, who 
6 



74 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

is superintendent of the funds. He apportions the dis- 
tributable funds according to the enumeration and the law, 
as stated in a previous page. Under the law of 1873, it is a 
misdemeanor punishable by fine or imj^risonment for any 
officer through whose hands the enumeration passes to add 
to or take from the number actually enumerated. Every 
officer appointed to take an enumeration is required to be 
under oath that he will take the same truly, and when he 
reports the result he must verify it by affidavit. 

According to the enumeration taken in 1875, the total 
number of school youth in the State of Ohio was 1,017,726. 
The act of 1853 also required every board of education to 
report yearly to the county auditor such statistics as had 
been required by previous laws, and this duty is required, 
with increased detail, in the act of 1873. Treasurers are 
also required to report statistics of moneys received and 
disbursed. Abstracts of all these are sent by the county 
auditor to the State Commissioner. 

The court appointing examiners must report their names 
directly to the Commissioner. Every board of examiners 
must report to him the number of examinations, applicants, 
certificates of each grade issued, fees received, and whatever 
else the Commissioner may require. For fear some useful 
item of information might be overlooked in the law, the act 
of 1873 makes it the duty of every school officer to report 
direct to the Commissioner any information he may require. 
One of the great advance steps of the law of 1853 was to 
restore the superintendence of all the common schools of 
the State to the charge of a distinct officer elected for that 
express duty. The State Commissioner of Common Schools 
is elected by the qualified electors of the State every three 
years. In addition to his duties, just stated, in collecting 
statistics, he makes an annual report of the same, with 
plans for the management and improvement of common 
schools, and such other information as he may think im- 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 75 

portant. It is also his duty to visit annually each of the 
nine judicial districts of the State, " suj^erintending and 
encouraging teachers' institutes, conferring with boards of 
education or other school officers, counseling teachers, visit- 
ing schools, and delivering lectures on topics calculated to 
subserve the interests of popular education." 

The State Commissioner is also required to exercise a 
supervision over the educational funds, and he has power, 
upon complaint in due form that school funds have been 
misapplied, to appoint a trustworthy and competent account- 
ant to investigate the matter, in order that if there has been 
fraud, civil or criminal proceedings may be commenced 
against the delinquents. 

PUPILS. 

For whose benefit all these laws, all this care, and all this 
labor and expense ? The preamble and first section of the 
law of 1825 are as follows : 

"Whereas, It is provided by the constitution of this State, that 
schools and the means of instruction shall forever be encouraged by 
legislative provision, therefore, 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, 
That a fund shall hereafter be annually raised among the several coun- 
ties in this State, in the manner pointed out by this act, for the use of 
common schools, for the instruction of youth of every class and grade, 
without distinction, in reading, writing, arithmetic, and other necessary 
branches of a common education." 

This was re-enacted in the year 1829, with the following 
words added : 

" Provided, that nothing in this act shall be construed to permit 
black or mulatto persons to attend schools hereby established, or com- 
pel them to pay any tax for support of such schools; but all taxes 
assessed on their property for school purposes, in the several counties 
of this State, shall be appropriated as the trustees of said township may 
direct, for the education of said persons." 

The same act, in another section, declares that the schools 
shall be open to all except blacks and mulattoes. The law 



76 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

of 1831 has the same preamble and section 1 as the act of 
1825, but inserts the word " white " before " youth," and 
omits the proviso of 1829. The next section provides for a 
tax, omitting the property of blacks and mulattoes. The 
law of 1838 also directed no tax to be levied on the property 
of any black or mulatto person, and it declared that in all 
cases during the periods when the public money is applied 
to the support of schools, the schools shall be free for all 
the white children in the district. From 1831 to 1848, black 
and mulatto persons were simply let alone by the school 
laws, as if neither tbey nor their property had any existence. 

In 1848, a law was passed to provide schools for colored 
children. It directed the property of black or colored per- 
sons to be taxed for school purposes the same as other prop- 
erty, a separate account to be kept by the county auditor, 
and the money to be paid for the support of separate schools 
for black or colored persons ; but in districts where they 
were allowed to attend the common schools, the money was 
added to the common school fund of the district. Every 
city, town, or township containing twenty or more black or 
colored children of any age was constituted a school dis- 
trict for such children, with the same organization and 
officers as other school districts. If the number of children 
was over fifty, the district might be divided. If the number 
was less than twenty desirous of attending school, they 
should be admitted to the common school unless a written 
objection was presented to the directors signed by any per- 
son having a child in the school or by any legal voter. In 
that case, no school tax should be levied on the property of 
any black or colored person in such city, town, or township, 
and if any such tax had been already paid, it should be 
refunded. 

The law of 1853 directs that when the number of colored 
school children in any school district exceeds thirty, there 
shall be established a separate school for them in such dis- 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 77 

trict, under the management of the board of education of 
the district; but if the average attendance is less than fifteen, 
the school shall be discontinued for any period not exceeding 
six months at one time, and if the number of children is 
less than fifteen, their share of school money shall be re- 
served and appropriated for their education under the direc- 
tion of the township board. What should be done when the 
number of colored children in the district was between fifteen 
and thirty, does not appear. This was amended, in 1864, by 
substituting twenty for both thirty and fifteen, and pro- 
viding for a joint district where the aggregate of colored 
children in two adjoining school districts is over twenty. 
The act of 1873 codified and superseded all other former 
laws, but this amended section of the previous law was left 
unrepealed. 

The laws of Ohio have never expressly excluded from 
school either adults or children below the minimum age of 
enumeration. In 1834, it was enacted that adults might be 
admitted to the common schools upon payment of tuition. 
In 1839, the same privilege, upon the same terms, was 
extended to adults and to persons residing out of the dis- 
trict. This was repeated in 1853 and in 1873. The schools 
are free to all youth between six and twenty-one years of 
iage, residents of the district. No pupil can be suspended 
except till the board of education or the local directors can 
be convened. No pupil can be expelled unless by a vote of 
two-thirds of the board of education or of the local directors, 
and after the parent or guardian of the accused has been no- 
tified of the proposed expulsion and been permitted to be 
heard against the same. The expulsion can only be for the 
current term. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

In the foregoing sketch it has been necessary to omit 
any notice of projects of legislation. Only enacted laws 



78 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

have been examined. Any mention of the legislators who 
were most efficient in making these laws, has been omitted. 
Very few of the names are known to tlie writer, and it is 
presumed that they will be sufficiently noticed in the chap- 
ter on Biography. It has also been necessary to omit many 
details of secondary importance, and nearly all mention of 
local laws. It is proper to say, however, that the latter have 
constituted a very large and important part of the school 
legislation of the State from the time when the lands were 
leased to the present. 

The statutes of 1821, 1825, 1838, and 1853 have been re- 
garded, and with some reason, as new laws initiating new 
eras in school history. This is more apparent than real. 
Many of the most important laws were made as amend- 
ments to these four. 

The law of 1821 provided a way in which people might 
unite in building school houses and employing teachers. 
It contemplated action of neighborhoods. The school lot in 
some corner of the forest would be of so little pecuniary 
value that a tax for its purchase was not provided for. The 
log house would cost more, and for that expense there would 
be needed some united action. This law was entirely per- 
missive, and this has remained a characteristic feature of 
Ohio school laws. Township superintendence, county super- 
intendence, teacher's institutes, tax for building houses, 
organization of high schools, the adoption of this or that 
law for a town, and various other matters have been left to 
the judgment or the caprice of the people most interested. 
The title of the act of 1821 was, '' An act 'to provide for the 
regulation and support of common schools. ." 

The law of 1825 was very different from the preceding. 
From beginning to end it had the tone of command — thus 
it shall be, and such shall be the penalty for neglect. This 
Avas the first law which levied a tax upon the principle 
that the property of all must help pay for popular educa- 
tion. The reader is impressed with the straightforward. 



SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 79 

earnest zeal which is evinced in all its sections. Its 
title was, "xVn act to provide for the support and better 
regulation of common schools. " 

Organization was the characteristic of the law of 1838. 
It provided system, with a head aiid various grades of 
supervision. It was entitled, " An act for the support and 
better regulation of common schools, and to create perma- 
nently the office of superintendent." 

Between 1838 and 1853, many amendments to the general 
law were enacted and many special and local laws were 
passed. Some confusion existed. The law of 1853 restored 
the state supervision, initiated the township system, ancl 
■established the rule that the property of the State must pay 
iiU the expense of public education. The features of that 
law are well expressed in its title, " An act to provide for 
the reorganization, supervision, and maintenance of common 
■schools. " 

The school law of Ohio, as it exists to-day, is the result of 
anore than half a century's slaw growth. The progress has 
not always been forward. Many experiments— some uH' 
successful — have been tried. 

The law of 1873 is a codification. It is distinguished 
from all previous school laws in that it unifies to a large 
extent the various systems of local organization, and pre' 
pares the way for yet greater uniformity in the futur§f 



CHAPTER 11. 

UNGRADED SCHOOLS: 

The origin of the Common School System of Ohio may be 
traced to the ordinance for the government of the North- 
western Territory passed by Congress in 1787. The third 
article of that ordinance declared that, "Religion, morality, 
and knowledge being necessary to good government and the 
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education 
shall be forever encouraged. " Two years prior to the pro- 
mulgation of this enlightened sentiment. Congress had pro- 
vided for the division of the Western Territory into ranges 
and townships in order to facilitate the sale of public lands 
therein. Each township was sub-divided into thirty-six 
sections, and the sixteenth section in every township Avas 
set apart " for the maintenance of public schools within the 
township." 

This grant of land for the support of schools was designed 
to encourage emigration to the unsettled regions of the then 
far west. The reservation of section sixteen for the mainte- 
nance of schools, and other provisions of a kindred character 
found in these early ordinances, indicate the sound judg- 
ment and far-sighted statesmanship of those who were instru- 
mental in framing and passing them. It is difficult to 
determine to what extent the tide of emigration which soon 
rolled westward, was broadened and deepened by the in- 
ducements held out to pioneers by these grants, which by 
compact were made perpetual. History bears out the asser- 
tion that many of the early settlers were wholly indifferent 
to those educational privileges which a little zeal and energy 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 81 

on their part would have placed within their reach ; and it 
is altogether unlikely that such were led to encounter the 
hardships and privations of pioneer life through the hope 
that their children's children would be the recipients of free 
instruction. 

The tnie pioneers, those who formed, as it were, the van- 
guard of the army of emigrants, and who sought the western 
country for the purpose of finding permanent homes there, 
entertained far more liberal and advanced views on the sub- 
ject of education than those who were quick to follow in 
their footsteps when the real advantages of the West as a 
place of abode became known. The early settlers of Ohio 
brought with them to their new homes the ideas and senti- 
ments which prevailed in the older states from which ^^^ey 
emigrated. If religion and education were regarded as of 
primary importance by the peojile of an)^ state, their sons 
and daughters carried these ideas with them to their pioneer 
homes, and were swift to prove the force of their early 
teachings by their acts. The reverse was equally true. 
From states in which a low standard of moral and educa- 
tional sentiment prevailed, came emigrants who remained 
as indifferent to the moral and intellectual welfare of their 
children as their fathers before them had been. Under such 
circumstances, the condition of education in the various set- 
tlements established before Ohio became a member of the 
Union, and in fact for many years after that event, was 
widely different. Intelligence became almost universal in 
the settlements established by the former class, Avhile in 
settlements founded by the latter, the evil results of the 
settlers' apathy in educational matters were discernible for 
many years. 

The settlement of Ohio began in 1788. In Ajjril of this 
year a little band of emigrants, under the auspices of the 
Ohio Company, landed at the mouth of the Muskingum 
river, and at once proceeded to lay out a town and erect rude 



82 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

dwelling-houses. These pioneers were the descendants of 
those sturdy Puritan Fathers who, in the winter of 1620, 
found a home in the dreary solitudes of New England. 
Possessed of many of the traits of character which so dis- 
tinguished their forefathers, the settlers at Marietta were 
soon enjoying the advantages of a school and the regular 
ministrations of a preacher of the Gospel. The labors of the 
Rev. Daniel Story, as a teacher and a preacher, began as soon 
as the infant settlement was fairly under way. Before 1800 
there were eight settlements established in the Ohio Com- 
pany's purchase, in each of which, it is fair to presume from 
the known antecedents of the settlers, the subject of education 
received that consideration which the nature of the times 
would permit. A school of young boys and girls at Belpre, 
taught during the summer of 1790 by Bathsheba Rouse, is 
mentioned by some authorities as being the first school of 
white children opened in Ohio. It is a well authenticated 
fact that the Moravian missionaries had established Indian 
schools at different missions on the Tuscarawas, a tributary 
of the Muskingum, several years before the settlements at 
Marietta and Belpre were begun. 

While these events were in progress within the purchase 
of the Ohio Company, a promising settlement was begun at 
a point on the Ohio river a short distance above Fort Wash- 
ington, the present site of Cincinnati. This settlement was 
called Columbia. Near the close of the year 1792, Francis 
Dunlevy, who had achieved distinction in the Indian cam- 
paigns, opened a school in Columbia. This pioneer teacher 
afterward held important offices under the territorial and 
state government. 

The first permanent settlement in that portion of Ohio 
known as the Western Reserve was not commenced before 
the year 1796, and two years later but few settlements were 
to be found in all that reservation. In 1802, a school was 
opened in Harpersfield which soon obtained a wide-spread 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 83 

reputation. This is supposed to be the first school estab- 
lished on the Reserve. The first teachers were Elizabeth 
Harper and Abraham Tappen. About the time the 
Harpersfield school was established, a school was taught by 
Anna Spafford in the cabin of one of the early settlers of 
Cleveland. 

Thus we see that the pioneers who settled in south- 
eastern, south-western, and north-eastern Ohio, established 
and sustained schools in their settlements amid all the 
perils and misfortunes that environed them. Regarding the 
settlements in the interior of Ohio less definite information 
can be obtained. With few exceptions, schools were opened 
as soon as the settlements Avere established. As before 
remarked, the presence or absence of a school in any settle- 
ment was largely due to the previous condition and training 
of the settlers. There were no means of removing the lethar- 
gy of the indifferent and of stimulating the faint-hearted. 
Opportunities for learning the lessons of prudence and wis- 
dom from the experiences of sister settlements were rarely 
afforded and less often improved in those early times. Each 
settlement solved the educational problem for itself. The 
wiser men of that period looked into the future and dis- 
cerned the foreshadowings of something better than was 
likely to be enjoyed in their generation. 

In the Territorial Legislature, education was made the 
frequent topic of discussion, and although nothing was done 
for the support of schools, the utterances of that body were 
such as to leave 'no doubt of the high estimation in which 
educational advantages were held by the members. The 
convention which met in Chillicothe, in 1802, to frame a 
constitution for the State of Ohio, was composed of men who 
recognized the expediency and necessity of legislative action 
in regard to schools as a means of insuring the well-being of 
the new state. It was made the imperative duty of the 
legislature bv the terms of the first state constitution, to 



84 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

encourage schools and the means of instruction by such 
legislative provision as would not be antagonistic to the 
rights of conscience. Another section of this instrument 
placed a prohibition on any legislative enactments that 
would tend to prevent the poor from participating equally 
in all the benefits arisin* from donations made by Congress 
for the support of schools and colleges. The ordinance of 
1787 declared that " schools and the means of education shall 
forever be encouraged," but the first constitution of Ohio 
pointed out the manner in which this encouragement should 
be extended; namely, "by legislative provision." 

From 1802 to 1821, legislative action regarding education, 
under the power conferred by the constitution, was confined 
to the passage of acts authorizing the incorporation of sem- 
inaries, religious and educational societies, and providing 
for the leasing of school lands. Nothing was done looking 
t) the establishment of schools by means of general or local 
taxation. The tardiness of the legislature in carrying out 
the constitutional requirement by a system of state or local 
taxation, might have been owing to the confident expecta- 
tion, which was general in the early days of the State's 
history, that the revenue arising from the lands donated by 
Congress would be adequate to sustain free schools through- 
out the State. How this hope was realized may be seen by 
study of our school legislation prior to 1828. 

Yet it must not be understood that there were none to lift 
a voice in advocacy-of an efficient system of common schools. 
The different men who held the gubernatoridl office during 
the first twenty years <)f Ohio's existence as a state, were 
earnest in their endeavors to secure wise school legislation 
on the part of the General Assembly, and no inconsiderable 
portion of their messages was devoted to the consideration 
of educational interests. Private citizens were not lacking 
who endeavored to arouse the legislature to the importance 
of the trust confided to its keeping, and Avho were swift to 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 85 

denounce the abuse of that power over the school lands by 
which the children of a ncAV generation were defrauded of 
their just inheritance. 

While these agencies of a public character were at work 
for good or evil, private enterprise and private means were 
employed in giving to the pioneer youth of the State the 
simplest rudiments of a common school education. This 
was an undertaking of no small magnitude. The condi- 
tions of pioneer life are such as to render anything approx- 
imating to an adequate provision for schools and other 
means of instruction well-nigh impossible. The pioneer 
must provide for the physical wants bf himself and his 
household before he is in a condition to give his attention 
to the demands of his higher nature. In a new settlement, 
a certain amount of material prosperity must be enjoyed by 
the people before they are prepared to introduce any of the 
more enlightened features of civilized life which are so 
beneficent in ministering to the mental and moral culture 
of the people of the older localities. The early settlers of 
Ohio, as a rule, were too busy in erecting rude habitations, 
felling trees, burning off the heavy timber, fencing the 
clearings, guiding the plow through rooty ground, and mak- 
ing passable highways to mill and market, to allow them 
to devote any attention to any other interest less press- 
ing, and that could be deferred to a more convenient sea- 
son. Hence it is not strange that school interests were 
often neglected. Muscular power could be used, and was 
indispensable, in improving a new country, in making 
money to pay for the homestead, and in meeting the 
demands of the tax-gatherer. So it happened that muscu- 
lar power was respected and commanded a high premium, 
while mere intellectual force without bodily vigor was at 
a discount. 

The pioneer schools of the northern and eastern sections 
of Ohio differed, in many respects, from those of the south- 



86 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

western portion of the State ; the latter being settled by. 
people from Virginia, Kentucky, and the Carolinas, who, 
probably, did not appreciate educational i^rivileges so highly 
as did the settlers of the former, who were from the New 
England States where common schools, at that time, were 
far in advance of those in any other section of the Union.* 

The teachers of the pioneer schools in south-western Ohio 
were selected more on account of their unfitness to perform 
manual labor than by reason of their intellectual worth. 
The few schools established in this section were taught by 
cripples, worn-out old men, and women physically unable 
or constitutionally too lazy to scotch hemp or spin flax. 
Educational sentiment was at a low ebb, and demanded 
from the instructors of children no higher qualifications 
than could be furnished by the merest tyro. Before school 
legislation and other instrumentalities effected salutary 
changes in the methods of school administration common 
to this localitry, schools of worth were only to be found in 
the more populous centers. The estimation in which the 
teacher was held by the community at large was not such 
as to induce any young man or woman of spirit and worth 
to enter upon teaching as a vocation. 

The teacher was regarded as a kind of pensioner on the 
bounty of the people, whose presence was tolerated only 
because county infirmaries were not then in existence. 
The capacity of teachers to teach was never a reason for 
employing him, but the fact that he could do nothing else 
was a satisfactory one. Under such circumstances, it would 
be vain to look for exalted qualifications on the part of the 
teachers. The people's demand for education was fully met 
when their children could write a tolerably legible hand, 
when-thev could read the Bible or an almanac, and when 



*The writer of this ch.npter is indebted to Hon. D. P. Nelson, of Butler county, and 
Judge S. G. Barnard, of Medina county, for interesting facts relating to the pioneer 
schools of Ohio. 



UNGEADED SCHOOLS. 87 

they were so far inducted into the mysterious computation 
of numbers as to be able to determine the vahie of a load of 
farm produce. This crude instruction was deemed amply 
sufficient ; more than this was regarded as dangerous, since 
the idea had gained currency that education made boys lazy 
and tricky. It was also a popular belief that 3'oung ladies 
Avho were apt with pen or pencil, were in innninent danger 
of falling an easy prey to some designing knave who might 
entrap them by an epistolary correspondence which could 
never be detected by an illiterate mother. Girls seldona 
learned to write. 

A brighter picture presents itself when Ave consider the 
state of educational sentiment in that section of Ohio 
peojjled with settlers from New England. At an early day 
schools on the Western Reserve were in a thriving condi- 
tion. Among the pioneers were found men who had re- 
ceived a liberal culture in schools and colleges second to 
none in the Union. Narrow and restricted views in regard 
to education found lodgment in the minds of comparatively 
few of the people. They were not oblivious to the value of 
education in a utilitarian sense, but their notions of utility 
were broader and more comprehensive than those enter- 
tained by their southern neighbors. They Avould not con- 
fine school instruction to those subjects, a knowledge of 
which would enable the child to provide for the wants of 
his physical nature alone, but Avould make it an important 
agency in arousing and strengthening the child's moral and 
mental attributes as well. The instruction which the 
child received at school bore early fruit, as seen in his im- 
proved conduct, manners, and morals. 

The social status of the teacher was on an equal footing 
with that of the physician and the minister. Society 
welcomed him to its presence as an honored member. His 
periodic visits to the homes of his pupils were regarded as 
quite an event by each household, and great were the prepa- 



88 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

rations that preceded his appearance to " board out " the 
share of any patron of his school. 

The qualifications of the teachers were generally such as 
to command respect. Many of them magnified their office, 
and contributed not a little to the formation of that public 
sentiment which soon began to demand a practical recogni- 
tion of school interests by the General Assembly. The 
teacher found board and lodging in the houses of his patrons. 
His evenings were spent with the family. If this plan did 
not give him the best opportunities for self-culture and pre- 
paration for the duties of the morrow, it was not without its 
advantages. Many an aspiring youth was led into new fields 
of thought by coming in personal contact with the master in 
the home circle ; and the seeds of knowledge planted by the 
faithful teacher around the firesides of the pioneers, often 
sprung up into vigorous life, yielding a rich mental fruit- 
age. The teacher became intimately acquainted with the 
habits and peculiarities of his pupils when they were act- 
ing independent of the authority exerted in the school- 
room, and was thus enabled to turn his knowledge of 
their traits of character to his own assistance and their 
profit. Parents were awakened to a new interest in their 
children's instruction, and were led to co-operate with the 
teacher in his efforts to promote that end by the quiet mis- 
sionary work performed by the teacher when brought into 
such close personal relations with them. 

In other respects than those instanced the pioneer schools 
of Ohio were not widely dissimilar. The schools were in- 
deed independent. The teacher would draw up an article 
of agreement binding himself to teach a school in some 
specified house for a term of thirteen weeks, six days per 
week, and eight hours per day, for which the patrons agreed 
to pay him a stipulated sum, ranging from one to two dol- 
lars for each scholar subscril)ed, one-half payable perhaps in 
wheat at fifty cents per bushel, and the balance payable in 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 89 

money at the close of the term. As a rule, when twenty- 
scholars were pledged the teacher's labors began. 

The practice which prevails to a great extent at the 
present day, of employing a male teacher to teach a winter 
term and a female teacher to teach the summer term, was 
prevalent all over the State. Tlie teacher was compelled to 
devote three-fourths of his time to labor of another kind, 
since the pittance saved from his school earnings was to- 
tally inadequate to supply him with physical comforts dur- 
ing the rest of the year. 

The mode of government was simple. Moral suasion was 
not recognized by the pioneer school-master as an important 
clement in school management. The neighboring forests 
were filled with fine sprouts, which were regarded as just 
the thing to sharpen the wits and brighten the moral per- 
ceptions of a pupil. Hickory oil was known to be a good 
lubricator for the mental friction of a school-boy, and its 
use in liberal quantities by the master or mistress was 
rarely the subject of complaint or criticism on the part of 
parents. 

The text-books were such as had been brought from the 
old settlements — few of them designed or fitted for school 
use. Murray's English Reader with Introduction, Colum- 
l)ian Orator, American Preceptor, Testaments, and not in- 
frequently old almanacs were in the hands of pupils as 
reading books. Dillworth's Speller and Webster's Easy 
Standard of Pronunciation were extensively used in pioneer 
schools. Pike's Arithmetic was the universal favorite, and 
the teacher who was unable to elucidate its mysteries as far 
as the /' Rule of Three " soon lost the repsect of his pupils 
and patrons. Geographies and grammars were seldom seen 
in the hands of teachers and scholars. The instruction in 
most schools was very rudimentary, being confined to such 
subjects as reading, spelling, writing, and the simplest oper- 
tions in numbers. A pioneer reading-class was an import- 

7 



90 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ant event in the programme of daily exercises. One pupil 
read from the family Bible, another from Poor Richard's 
Almanac, while still a third read thrilling passages from 
some highly-prized volume, such as Captain James Riley's 
Narrative of Shipwreck and Captivity among the Arabs. 
If the reader of the last chanced to possess some elocution- 
ary power, the whole school, teacher included, suspended 
operations and with open mouths and eyes listened in- 
tently to the interesting narration. Spelling and reading 
were made specialties, and were regarded as the chief tests 
of soholarship. Spelling matches were second only in im- 
portance to the schools themselves. These were usually 
held at night, and were attended by old and young. A ride, 
or more frequently a walk, of six miles was an obstacle 
easily surmounted by persons wishing to enjoy the competi- 
tion or witness the discomfiture of a rival school when its 
last champion was " spelled down." 

The school-houses in which these busy scenes were en- 
acted almost defy description. Were it not that after 
nearly three-quarters of a century of progress, many school- 
houses yet exist which have their prototypes in the pioneer 
school-houses, the attempt to describe the latter by any 
other than one who had a personal knowledge of them 
would be a difficult undertaking. The vacant cabin, which 
had been hastily constructed by some pioneer and vacated 
as soon as he had built a better or had left the settlement 
to seek a more favored locality, sometimes served as a school- 
house. Again, the settlers would exercise their ingenuity 
and architectural skill in building what they considered a 
suitable house for school purposes. As regards the material 
used in its erection, and the means of comfort provided for 
those who were to occupy it, the latter structure had few 
advantages over the former. It was formed of logs, some- 
times roughly hewed, and was generally about eighteen feet 
wide by twenty-four feet long. The eaves were about ten 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 91 

feet from the ground, and the roof was covered with rows of 
clapboards held in place by long poles running lengthwise. 
The openings between the logs were chinked with pieces of 
wood, stone, or any other convenient material, and plastered 
with mortar made from the ground near by. This work was 
called " mudding " the house. The directors generally at- 
tended to this branch of repairs every fall, as the rains of 
spring and summer usually washed away the mortar, espe- 
cially if straw or hay had not been used in mixing it. 

The door Avas made of rough boards, hung with Avooden 
hinges, and fastened by means of a wooden latch, to which a 
string was attached passing through a small hole above out 
into the ojjen air. Access to the building was obtained by 
pulling the string, by Avhich the latch was lifted, and exert- 
ing a little muscular force to overcome the friction of the 
rude hinges. The pioneers secured their houses from surrep- 
titious entrance by pulling in the string. Thus it became 
l)roverbial that the " latch-string out " was a sign of hospi- 
tality. Tardy pupils who found no string outside, knew 
that the master was " at prayers " Avithin, and Avaited si- 
lentl}^ and solemnly around the door until the latch-string 
appeared. 

Some houses had rough puncheon floors, others only clay. 
These puncheons Avere thick slabs or plank split from large 
logs and hcAved on one side, being from three to four inches 
thick and often lying upon the ground instead of upon 
" sleepers." Ventilation Avas perfect. In some cases, light 
Avas obtained by cutting out an entire log and pasting oiled 
paper over the opening — thus admitting some light and ex- 
cluding some cold — again, Avindow sash were fitted in open- 
ings made by cutting through three or four logs, and glazed 
in the usual manner. Sometimes the inside Avails, instead 
of receiving the common coat of mortar, Avere covered with 
boards. These Avails Avere bare of pictures and other orna- 
ments, if Ave accept such rude efforts at portraiture as were 



92 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

made by the more ambitious and skillful pupils with no bet- 
ter material than chalk or a piece of coal taken from the 
wide-extended fire-place. 

The school furniture was in keeping with the exterior 
and interior appearance of the building. By splitting a log 
six inches in diameter and fifteen feet in length, into halves, 
and mounting these upon four legs, flat side up, solid if not 
comfortable seats were made. The idea that a pupil's spinal 
column needed any support or that his feet should touch the 
floor, was utterly ignored by the mechanical geniuses who 
constructed the benches for the pioneer school-house. Next 
to the wall, on three sides of the room, the floor was often 
elevated for the benches of the larger scholars. The lower 
benches were in front. It was a Avell established rule of the 
school that pupils occupying the back seats should not put 
their feet on the persons or seats of the smaller pupils in 
front — a rule that had a wholesome effect in protecting those 
whose youth and size doomed them to occupy jilaces on the 
front forms. The desks were only for the use of pupils on 
the back seats. These were formed by placing wide boards 
on long pins driven into the logs. The edges of these desks 
served as a sort of brace for the backs of those scholars whose 
size gave them a seat near the wall. 

The scholars were required to face the teacher except on 
special permission or when writing. "Face to the wall" 
required a movement calling for much skill and judgment, 
on the part of the actors, to execute it surely and gracefully. 
A young lady, in compl3dng with this order, was compelled 
to disturb the other occupants of the bench, perhaps by 
obliging them to rise, or to swing herself into her place in a 
very ungraceful manner. The boys swung themselves into 
the required position with wonderful alacrity. The move- 
ment was peculiar. A boy with arms akimbo and lower 
limbs extended Avould describe a half-circle, passing his feet 
between the seat and desk as he turned. An inexpert 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 93 

whose feet chanced to strike either seat or desk, was thrown 
to the floor as the result of misdirected motion. 

In winter, immense logs blazed in the open fire-place 
which occupied a great part of one end of the building. A 
wall of rough stone against the side of the house formed a 
foundation upon which the chimney rested. The chimney 
itself was made of sticks placed upon each other like cobs in 
" cob-houses," chinked with mortar and thickly coated inter- 
nally with the same material — the Avhole being kept in 
place by two naturally-crooked saplings, shaped like the 
runners of a sled, one end of each resting on a log in the 
building and the other on a joist. 

The time and ingenuity of the builders of these primitive 
school-houses seemed to be exhausted when the main build- 
ing was completed and furnished. Those adjuncts which 
are now regarded as indispensable features of every school- 
yard, were not always seen among the surroundings of the 
pioneer school-house. • The sexes usually had their recesses 
at different times. 

Such was the condition of education throughout the rural 
districts of Ohio prior to the passage of the first school 
law in 1821. Many schools of a higher character than those 
Avhose description has been attempted Avere to be found in 
the larger towns of the State. All schools were sui^ported 
by the voluntary contributions of the people, as no tax had 
been authorized by the General Assembly, and as the lands 
donated for the support of schools had not yet produced any 
revenue of importance. ' 

The influences which were effective in securing legislation 
in behalf of a common school system, emanated from a few 
Avise, liberal-minded men in Cincinnati. Their efforts were 
ably seconded by the friends of education in Cleveland and 
other northern towns, between whom and the originators of 
the movement an extensive correspondence in reference to 
school interests was carried on. This concerted effort, 



94 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

together Avith the advanced views disseminated among the 
people through the agency of Solomon Thrifty's Almanac, 
published at Cincinnati under the proprietorship of Nathan 
Guilford, led to the passage by the legislature of the first 
general school law for Ohio. Although this law failed to 
effect any salutary reforms in the methods of school admin- 
istration in vogue at that time, it paved the way for more 
efficient legislation in subsequent years. The school law of 
1821 made provision for the division of townships into school 
districts in case a majority of the householders voted in favor 
of such organization; the selection of these householders as a 
school committee in each district so established, and the levy- 
ing of taxes within a certain limit ; the erection of schol- 
buildings in suitable and convenient localities, and the 
employment of teachers by such committee. In assessing 
taxes, the committee was authorized to remit the whole or 
any part of the taxes levied upon parents or guardians who 
were unable to pay their share of the 'assessment, the 
amount of which was determined by the number of scholars 
who had been in attendance at school. The effect of this 
2yi'o rata assessment in those districts organized under the 
law, was to deprive the children of the poor of all school 
instruction. Pride acted as an effective bar to prevent the 
acceptance by the poor man of school privileges which were 
grudgingly paid for by his more prosperous neighbors. 

The law of 1821 carried with it nothing more than a 
moral force. Under its authority, action on the part of the 
people was permissible, not obligatory. The law of February 
5, 1825, was wider in its scope and more liberal in its pro- 
visions than its predecessor. For the first time in the 
history of the State, a county tax for the sup})ort of common 
schools was established by legislative authority. The peo- 
ple were slow to avail themselves of the opportunities for 
the establishment of a better school system afforded by the 
new law, and meager were the results secured for many 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 95 

years. It reached the country districts finally, and caused 
the organization of several districts and the erection of a 
Ijetter class of school-houses, but produced no material 
change in the management of the schools. 

As late as 1825 there were no public schools, properly 
speaking, in Cincinnati, where, as we have seen, public 
sentiment was early manifested in favor of wise legislation 
in support of schools. The revenue derived from the county 
tax and the receipts from school lands were insufficient to 
maintain free schools for more than a few weeks in the year. 
In order to provide the necessary funds to keep the schools 
in session for a longer period, " rate bills " were assessed on 
all schoolr^patrons. In 1829, when the county tax was 
three-fourths of a mill, the Avhole amount of money ap- 
portioned to the directors of a rural district for the main- 
tenance of a free school rarely exceeded $10. How could a 
free school be opened with only ten dollars of public money 
in the school treasury? This problem was solved by a 
public announcement, under authority of the directors, that 
upon a certaia day a school would be oj^ened for free in- 
struction for a term of ten days. The appointed day came, 
and with it came scholars in search of free tuition. Many 
scholars, whom the teacher had never seen before and whom 
probably he never saw again, flocked to the school house 
and filled up every available seat. Ten days of anarchy 
ruled in the school-room. Those who were able to pay the 
assessment by which the school was sustained after the pub- 
lic fund was exhausted, did not, as a general rule, patronize 
the free school. 

The law of 1825 provided for the appointment of ex- 
aminers of schools by the court of common pleas. Teachers 
were required to obtain certificates of qualifications from 
these examiners before they could teach a district school. 
In this legislation is seen the first attempt to protect the 
children of the State from the results of incompetent teach- 



96 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ing. The law secured the " instruction of youth in reading, 
Avriting, arithmetic, and other necessary branches of a com- 
mon education." Applicants. for certificates Avere examined 
in spelling, reading, writing, and in arithmetic as far as the 
" Single Rule of Three." Many teachers who had taught 
acceptably in the school-room, and whose fitness to dis- 
charge the duties of instructor had never been questioned 
by their employers, Avere unable to pass a satisfactory ex- 
amination in these rvidimentary branches. Among teachers 
and patrons the impression prevailed that the action of 
school examiners in fixing the standard of qualifications 
Avas needlessly severe. 

Between the years 1825 and 1837, legislation accomplished 
little for the advancement of school interests. During this 
period the county tax Avas increased to one and one-half 
mills, Avith an additional half mill at the discretion of the 
county commissioners. In 1831, a ncAV impulse was given 
to education by the organization of a College of Teachers at 
Cincinnati. The papers read before this body, which in- 
cluded among its members the most prominent educators of 
Ohio and neighboring states, Avere characterized by marked 
ability and profound AA'isdom. The influence of the College 
of Teachers AA'as felt in securing a more general and a more 
efficient administration of the school law, in spreading 
abroad more enlightened vicAvs on the subject of a public 
school system, and in promoting the progress of higher edu- 
cation in the State. It Avas mainly through the discussions 
held at its sessions that the public mind was directed to the 
need of a Superintendent of Common Schools. 

In 1837, a State School Department was established and 
Hon. Samuel Loaahs became the first State Superintendent. 
The most authentic history of the common schools of Ohio 
from 1837 to 1840, is to be found in the three annual reports 
of Mr. LcAvis published under legislative authority. For 
the first time, an attempt Avas made to obtain statistical in- 



UNGEADED SCHOOLS. 97 

formation respecting the condition of the schools of the 
State as seen in the practical Avorkings of the school law. 
Many county auditors, either through negligence or ina- 
bility to obtain the required information, failed to make 
any returns whatever, while the reports of others were so 
inaccurate and incomplete as to convey no other informa- 
tion than that school affairs in many counties were badly 
administered. 

Mr. Lewis became convinced that the common schools of 
cities and towns were poorer than those in country districts. 
The people of the rural districts took a deeper interest in 
the common school, because the means and opportunities 
for establishing and supporting private schools were not so 
abundant in the country as in the cities and towns. The 
patronage extended by the wealthy inhabitants of cities to 
private schools tended to bring the common schools into dis- 
repute, and to fasten upon them the ruinous appellation of 
" poor schools." Those unable to provide for the instruc- 
tion of their children, except through the agency of the 
common school, were not always willing to accept its privi- 
leges when such acceptance on their part was a sure means 
of exhibiting their poverty. 

When the labors of Mr. Lewis began, Cincinnati was the 
only city in the State where free instruction was provided 
for all alike by local taxation. The chief difficulty exper- 
ienced in cities where attempts were made to sustain free 
schools, resulted from the inadequacy of the school accommo- 
dations. The schools were kept in rented houses, often 
totally unfit for the purpose for which they were leased, and 
sometimes in the basement of churches. When the old 
order of things was superseded by the free school policy, new 
buildings became a necessity. The erection of suitable 
buildings for the accommodation of the large number of 
pupils that soon applied for admission to the free schools, 
greatly increased the burden of taxation and thus aroused 



98 EDUCATION In OHIO. 

the active opposition of many wealthy citizens. Nothing 
but the inherent strength of the free school policy and the 
courage and intelligence of its advocates secured its growth 
into popular favor under such circumstances. 

Action under the^school law was by no means uniform in 
towns, villages, and rural districts. The plainest provisions 
of the law regarding the use of the school fund derived from 
the county tax were frequently and shamefully violated. 
In certain districts the school fund would be allowed to 
accumulate until it Avas sufficient to sustain a school for a 
time of three months, and then a free school would be 
opened. Again, in other districts the public money would 
be used in part payment of school expenses, while the 
balance would be subscribed by parents at so much per 
scholar. Under the plan last mentioned schools were kept 
in session for longer time, but the poor were rarely allowed 
to participate in the greater amount of instruction thus se- 
cured. Sometimes the teacher was required to receive 
the children of those who were able to prove their ina- 
bility to pay their proportional part of the cost of tuition ; 
but if these so far overcame their feelings of pride as to seek 
school advantages under such conditions, the school-room 
Avas overcrowded and the teacher's efforts crippled thereby. 
The school-house of a district was rarely commodious enough 
to accommodate all the children living within the district, 
and not without reason did the Avealthy class prefer the 
school supported by suljscription to the free school Avith its 
crowded forms, impure air, and overAvorked teacher. 

While pointing out the Aveak places in the school system 
as it then existed, and Avhile exhibiting in the clearest light 
and the strongest language the abuses that had crept into 
its administration, Mr. LcAvis did not hesitate to affirm that 
outside of New England no better schools could be found in 
the Union than those of Ohio. He found cause for congra- 
tulation and encouragement in the facts that the people 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 99 

were heginning to recognize the evils that had become asso- 
ciated with school management and seemed determined to 
remedy them; that public sentiment was demanding 
qualified teachers; that the instruction in the common 
schools was taking a freer range and a wider scope; and 
that substantial frame and brick school-houses were taking 
the place of the old pioneer relics and rented basements. 

The school law of 1838 gave legislative sanction to many 
of the views advanced in Mr. Lewis's first annual report. 
Its main provisions remained essentially the same until 
1853. A state school fund of $200,000 was established, a 
count}^ tax of two mills was imposed, local taxes for build- 
ing school-houses were authorized, and reports from teachers 
and school authorities were required. Under this liberal 
legislation the prosperity of free schools was assured, as 
more abundant means Avere provided for their support. 

The three years' service of Mr. Lewis marks a bright era 
in the educational history of Ohio. His retirement from 
office in 1839 lost to the cause of free schools the active ser- 
vice of its ablest advocate. 

From 1840 to 1853 the duties of State Superintendent of 
Schools devolved upon the Secretary of State. Between 
1840 and 1845 there was an evident decline of school inter- 
est on the part of the people. The tables of school statistics 
in the appendix to this work will shoAV, in part, manifesta- 
tions of this decline. 

In 1845, the first session of a teachers' institute in Ohio 
was held at Sandusky. It is no exaggeration to say that from 
that time until the present no instrumentality has been 
more effective in elevating the character of teaching in all 
schools, but more especially in ungraded schools of the State, 
than the teachers' institute. The College of Teachers, of 
which mention has been made, accomplished much for 
teachers engaged in the more advanced departments of 
education, and the State Teachers' Association, organized in 



100 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

1847, has contributed largely to the same end ; but the great 
mass of the common school teachers of the State have never 
been directly benefited by the able discussions and scholar- 
ly paj^ers which have so distinguished these educational 
bodies. 

The early schools of Ohio were from necessity ungraded 
schools. The graded system could not be established in 
pioneer settlements. The cities were the first to demand 
and secure such legislation as would enable them to provide 
for the instruction of a large number of pupils in one build- 
ing. Classification, by which the Avork of instruction might 
be facilitated and rendered more effective, folloAved naturally. 
Before 1847, the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, and 
Columbus had organized graded schools under special acts of 
the legislature. The value of the graded system of instruc- 
tion, as evinced by the steady progress of the schools in theses 
cities, received legislative recognition in the passage of the 
" Akron law," the law of 1849, and that of ia53, under which 
graded schools have since been established in all the cities 
and towns and in many of the villages of the State. Since 
the passage of these acts, the most energizing and vitalizing 
forces have been employed in placing the graded schools on 
a more elevated plane of progress than has been even ap- 
proximately reached by the best and most favored ungraded 
or rural schools. During the last thirty years the most in- 
telligent efforts of legislatoi's and educators have been put 
forth in perfecting the graded systems of cities and towns, 
while the interests of the ungraded schools of the rural dis- 
tricts, if not forgotten, have been sadly neglected. In 1838, 
the schools in rural districts were more efficient than those 
of cities; but since that time the former have advanced by 
slow and almost imperceptible stages, while the latter have 
progressed with unparalleled rapidity. That there has been 
t progress in country schools cannot be denied, but this pro- 
gress has been due as much to the force of events as to any 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. JOl 

wisely-directed efforts put forth in their behalf. Educa- 
tors and friends of education do not point to our ungraded 
schools when they wish to show the best fruitage of our 
common school system. The cities are altogether relied 
upon to sustain the credit of the State in all educational 
expositions. 

The causes that have been instrumental in retarding the 
])rogress of ungraded schools are now generally known. 
They have not felt the effects of intelligent supervision ; 
they have not been taught by professional teachers; and 
they have not been watched over by intelligent, capable 
boards of directors. It is frequently asserted, with some 
show of reason, that the ungraded schools of to-day afford 
fewer facilities for the acquisition of a knowledge of the 
higher branches than thev did a score of years ago. Before 
the schools of cities and towns afforded a more remunerative 
field of labor to the professional teacher, it was not uncom- 
mon to see a teacher of liberal culture in charge of a country 
school. The pioneer teacher was often the graduate of a 
good college. He was able to soar beyond the elementary 
fields of knowledge into regions comparatively unknown to 
the greater number of the common school teachers of a later 
day. His pupils caught something of the love for knowledge 
which actuated the master, and were thus led to aspire to a 
higher standard of scholarship than that limited by an ac- 
(juaintance with the elementary branches. 

The law by which the qualifications of teachers were 
measured by boards of county examiners, when faithfully 
enforced, secured the banishment from the school-room of 
many incompetent teachers ; but it failed to recognize any 
distinction between the liberally-educated teacher and the 
one possessing no more book knowledge than Avas required 
to entitle him to a certificate of the lowest grade. The law 
Avidened the field of competition, and hastened the with- 
drawal from the ungraded schools of the State of the best 



102 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

educated and most capable teachers. Boards of directors 
were expected to supply teachers for their districts, and 
sometimes they set about the Avork in much the same way 
as they would conduct themselves in driving a sharp bar- 
gain with a cattle dealer for farm stock ; only pausing long 
enough, before concluding the transaction, to satisfy them- 
selves that the applicant was in possession of the certificate 
required by law. Of course such a state of affairs did not 
prevail all over the State. In many localities, an}^ other 
than a thoroughly qualified teacher could not secure a school 
under any circumstances. 

From 1825 to 1849, teachers were required to pass an ex- 
amination in spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic. To 
these branches were added, in 1849, geography and English 
grammar. During the last quarter of a century the law has 
demanded of the teachers of ungraded schools no bigbcr 
scholarship than would enable them to show a moderate ac- 
quaintance with these rudimentary subjects. The peojjle 
often manifest no disposition to find fault with a law which 
has the cfiect to supply abundant material from which to 
select cheap teachers. Under the present system of exam- 
ination the sujjply of teachers greatly exceeds the demand, 
and as a consequence, the less qualified teachers establish 
the rate of compensation, while the more worthy are com- 
pelled to seek a livelihood in some more lucrative labor. 

This excess of the supply of teachers above the demand 
is productive of another evil. The services of a good teacher 
are often dispensed with for no other reason than that the 
directors favor " rotation in office." Two young ladies are 
ambitious to become the teacher of the district school. The 
law kindly interposes no serious obstacle. Certificates are 
obtained by each, after many successive attempts, and the 
two aspirants for pedagogic honors present themselves be- 
fore the local directors and ask employment at their hands. 
If the friends of these young ladies are equally influential 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 103 

and importunate, the directors are placed in no enviable 
position. A compromise is generally effected, by the terms 
of which both are assured of employment. The one selected 
is expected to vacate the teacher's chair at the end of the 
first term to make way for the installment of the other at 
the beginning of the second. 

It is not difficult to form an idea of the nature of the in- 
struction given in many schools when the meager qualifica- 
tions of the teachers and the mode of their selection are 
known. The tendency of the instruction, in schools taught 
by such teachers, is to make pupils mere memorists of the 
language of the text books rather than to awaken and 
stimulate their mental faculties. Pupils are j^ushed rapidly 
forward in reading and spelling, and yet they rarely become 
either good readers or good spellers, because their teachers 
do not understand in what good reading and good spelling 
consist. The reading lesson accomplishes little for the pupils 
beyond an indifferent drill in vocal culture. It is not gen- 
erally regarded as a means of cultivating expression and 
stimulating thought. The spelling-book is in the hands of 
every pupil. Whole columns of words are committed to 
memor}' and afterwards spelled in the spelling class, by 
pupils who have no idea whatever t)f their meaning or the 
use to Avhich they might be applied. The idea that spelling 
could be taught in any other way or that it might prove a 
valuable auxiliary in furnishing new words for the pupil's 
vocabulary, has never dawned upon the mind of these ex- 
ceptional teachers. Under their tuition, instruction in 
writing is confined to printing on slates until the pupil has 
attended school several terms. Grammatical instruction, 
adapted to the wants and mental capacity of small pupils 
is rarely attempted. After several years of school life, during 
Avhich he was permitted to set all grammatical principles at 
defiance both at the recitation seat and in his ordinary 
conversation, the pupil is required to supply himself with a 



104 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

text book, and at once enters upon the discouraging labor of 
committing its definitions and rules to memor}-. 

Geography and arithmetic are taught in much the same 
way. The pupils are left in ignorance of the easiest com- 
binations of numbers and the simplest notions of geography 
until they arrive at the age of ten or eleven years, when 
they obtain their first knowledge of these subjects through 
the medium of the text books. Language lessons, composi- 
tion, ol)ject lessons, music, and drawing, now so generally 
taught in the primary classes of graded schools, do not re- 
ceive that attention their imiwrtance merits in ungraded 
schools. Indeed, it sometimes happens that public senti- 
ment does not uphold the teacher in giving any considerable 
portion of his time to instructing his pupils in these sub- 
jects. When such is the case, the branches enumerated in 
the school law fix the educational bounds beyond which the 
teacher is not at liberty to wander. 

There are many teachers employed in ungraded schools 
who can not justly be charged with incomi^etency or lack of 
professional zeal. Such are struggling with commendable 
fidelity against the obstacles and discouragements which be- 
set them. It is encouraging to know that their numbers are 
constantly increasing. Through their efforts the i^eople of 
rural districts are becoming awakened to the real value of 
good school-houses, improved school furniture, and compe- 
tent teachers, and to the justice of paying liberal salaries to 
professional teachers. Charts, maps, globes, and other means 
of explaining and illustrating the subjects studied by the 
pupils are to be found in schools taught by the better class 
.of teachers. The skillful use of such material by the teacher 
rarel}^ fails to convince school directors and school patrons of 
its value. 

The school machinery in country districts is far too com- 
plicated to admit of effective action. To the multiplicity of 
sub-districts may be attributed many of the evils that have 



UNGRADED SCHOOLS. 105 

fastened themselves like an incubus upon the schools. 
Many school officers are engaged in performing various 
duties in reference to these sub-districts which could be 
more faithfully executed by a single board of education in 
each township. Local directors usually oppose such a con- 
solidation of sub-districts as would place the schools of the 
townships on a more advantageous footing. Each sub- 
district must have its own school-house and its own teacher. 
Thus educational means and forces are dissipated without 
securing adequate returns. 

The best interests of ungraded schools now demand the 
consolidation of the sub-districts, when it can be efiected 
without the too great inconvenience of the people. Good 
school-houses are generally found in those districts which 
have forty or more pupils under instruction. A careful re- 
districting of a township by a township board of education 
would render it possible for each district to have a comfort- 
able school-house, to keep the school in session for a longer 
period, and to secure the services of a competent teacher. 

The worst features in the administration of ungraded 
schools have been pointed out. There are some brighter 
sides to the picture than those presented. Were it not that 
our graded schools are showing such excellent work, the 
results of the instruction in ungraded schools might not 
appear so meager and unsatisfactory. It is only when the 
two are brought into comparison that the defects of the 
latter are prominently seen. There is hope in the future in 
that the impression is becoming general that some wisely- 
directed efforts must be jsut forth, at an early day, in behalf 
of ungraded schools. 



CHAPTER III. 
GRADED SCHOOLS. 

GENERAL H18T0RY. 

The greatest obstacle in the way of grading the schools, 
in the early history of popular education in Ohio, Avas the 
want of sufficient and suitable school buildings. The first 
schools opened in cities and towns were held in such 
rented rooms as could be obtained at the least possible 
expense. The furniture was made or furnished by common 
mechanics, who seldom considered whether or not it was 
adapted to the uses to which it was to be put. Single 
rooms were procured in different parts of the town, each 
room designed to accommodate all the children of school 
age within a specified territory. Under such circumstances, 
grading and classification were wholly impracticable. No 
decided progress was made in the general management of 
schools and the methods of instruction till suitable houses 
and convenient and comfortable furniture were provided. 
The cities and towns which were the first to erect good 
buildings with the necessary appliances, were also the first 
to enter upon plans which looked towards imj)rovements 
in classification and instruction. 

The school law passed by the General Assembly, Feb- 
ruary 5, 1825, contained the germ of the present school 
system, but it made no adequate provision for furnishing 
means for the erection of school houses. The organization 
of the public schools under the provisions of this act called 
out more or less opposition, especially in the larger cities 
and towns where private schools had been established and 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 107 

were in a prosperous condition. The friends of the public 
schools saw plainly that under an organization so feeble and 
inadequate, success in the establishment of an efficient sys- 
tem of free schools could not be attained. Cincinnati, the 
largest city in the State, felt most deeply the need of pro- 
viding for the education of her youth. In the Senate of 
the General Assembly of 1828-9, Col. Andrew Mack intro- 
duced a bill for a special act to amend the city charter of 
Cincinnati, which bill authorized the city council to lay off 
the city into ten districts, and at the expense of the city to 
provide for the support of common schools ; to purchase 
for the use of the city a suitable lot of land in each district, 
and to erect thereon a substantial school house ; and in ad- 
dition to the tax of one mill on the dollar for the purchase 
of sites and the erection of buildings, the city council was 
authorized to levy a tax of one mill on the dollar to defray 
the expenses for teachers and fuel. This bill became a law. 
It was at first received with decided opposition by men of 
property, and attempts were made to make the act exceed- 
ingly unpopular with the people. The influence of the 
wealthier classes caused the city council to delay in carry- 
ing out the provisions of the law, and it was not till the 
year 1836 that the buildings were completed and ready for 
occupancy. The houses were each forty by sixty feet, two 
stories high, with two a2:)artments in each story. The upper 
stories were occupied by the girls, and the lower by the 
boys. The pupils of each department were divided into 
two grades. 

This special act, which was the first passed in the State 
for the better support of public schools, gave Cincinnati an 
organization independent of the general school law. Im- 
provements in management and insti'uction began with the 
occupancy of these buildings. The first attempts at sys- 
tematic grading and classification in Ohio Avere made in 
these schools from 1836 to 1840. The size of the houses and 



108 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the prevailing opinion that the boys and girls should be 
separated by brick walls, prevented the establishment of 
any more than two distinct grades. But this condition of 
affairs did not continue long. Albert Picket, Sen., and James 
H. Perkins, members of the school board, made a report in 
1840, in which they presented a basis for defining the 
courses of study and the advancement of pupils in a graded 
system of instruction. The following is a synopsis of the 
course prepared by these gentlemen. As it is the first 
graded course of instruction in the Cincinnati schools, and 
the first in the public schools of Ohio, it is here presented. 

SYNOPSIS or COURSE OF STUDY. 



The alphabet, spelling words of one, two, three, and four letters ; 
easy words of two syllables ; spelling and reading easy sentences ; 
oral instruction — teaching the pupils to use their eyes as well as their 
ears. 

GRADE II. 

Spelling ; correct pronunciation ; reading ; modulation of the voice ; 
accent, emphasis, stops and marks in reading ; spelling sentences ; 
simple tables in arithmetic ; learning to count, etc. ; writing after 
copies on slates and blackboards; oral instruction continued. 

GRADE III. 

Spelling ; higher reading ; analysis of words and learning their mean- 
ing ; analysis of sentences ; writing after copies on slates, blacklioards, 
and books ; copying words and sentences from books and manuscripts ; 
oral, mental and written arithmetic ; tables in arithmetic ; oral instruc- 
tion continued. 

GRADE IV. 

Spelling ; reading and definitions ; stops and marks ; analysis of 
words and sentences; the nature and power of letters; modification 
and influence of words upon one another; writing after copies on 
slates, blackboards, and books ; copying from Ijooks and manuscripts ; 
liigher arithmetic ; geography and history of the United States, with 
maps ; the definition of grammatical terms ; simple parsing ; classifica- 
tion of words and their constructive influence on one another ; modern 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 109 

geography and liistory, with maps and globes; chixDnologj' ; oral in- 
struction continued. 

GRADE V. 

Analysis and definition of words ; rhetorical reading ; penmanship 
as applied to tlie forms of business, as copying from books or manu- 
scripts, letter writing, bills, notes, receipts, etc. ; higher arithmetic 
with all its kindred branches, as applied to business ; English gram- 
mar, parsing, correction of false syntax, writing with grammatical accu- 
racy ; rhetoric and composition ; modern and ancient geography and 
history, with maps, and globes ; algebra ; geometry ; trigonometry ; 
mensuration ; surveying ; chemistry ; botany ; natural history ; geology ; 
natural philosophy, and rural economy. To these may be added, as 
circumstances may suggest, the study of the constitution of the United 
States, and all the higher branches of mathematics. 

It was also recommended that the pupils in the last three 
grades should be required to read at certain intervals in the 
Bible, of which the authorized version without notes or com- 
ments should be used. 

Such was the first graded course of instruction of which 
there is any record in the public schools of Ohio. Several 
years elapsed before the plan recommended was fully carried 
out; but the results obtained in the attempt to follow it, 
placed the Cincinnati public schools in the first rank among 
the common schools in the country, and made them the 
pride and glor}^ of the city. 

Another step in advance in grading the schools of Cincin- 
nati Avas made in 1847, by the establishment and organiza- 
tion of the Central High School, and by the adojotion of a 
course of study embracing the higher English branches, 
the ancient and some of the modern languages, besides draw- 
ing and vocal music. Classes were admitted to this school 
only once each year. The pupils at this time in the district 
schools were divided into three grades, and each of these 
grades into three sections. At stated times, upon passing a 
satisfactory examination, they were transferred from a lower 
to a higher grade. 

The example of Cincinnati encouraged other cities and 
towns to efforts in a similar direction. The cause was also 



110 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

greatly aided by the indeftitigable labors of Hon. Samuel 

Lewis, the Superintendent of the Common Schools of Ohio. 

In his second annual report he refers to the gradation of 

schools as follows : . 

" I am satisfied that, as the cause advances, experience will ulti- 
mately induce the union of several districts, so as to class all the 
scholars, leaving the small children to be taught in suli-districts by 
females, and having a central school of a higher order taught by a 
male teacher." 

Before this time, 1840, a partial graded system had been 
established in New York, Boston, Providence, and Philadel- 
phia. In these cities, provision was made for a class of 
primary schools for all under eight years of age. In Boston 
three distinct grades were recognized — primary' schools for 
children from four to eight years, and grammar schools and 
Avriting schools for boys from eight to fourteen years, and for 
girls from eight to sixteen. Each grade had two depart- 
ments, one for boys and one for girls, and each department 
had two divisions. The Latin Grammar Schools and the 
English High School constituted the third grade. 

The progress made in grading in these older cities, and 
the good results which followed, had undoubtedly much 
influence in encouraging similar efforts in the schools of 
the growing cities of the West. Cleveland was the second 
city in the State which introduced a system of grading in 
the public schools. The first free school in this city was 
established in 1834. In 1837, the first board of managers 
was appointed by the city council and the free schools were 
organized. Under the provision of a special law two houses 
for public schools were built in 1840. Each building con- 
tained four rooms and accommodated two hundred pupils. 
The boys and girls, in accordance with the public opinion of 
the day, were separated. The schools were divided into two 
grades, distinguished by the names primary and senior. As 
the number of pupils increased, the lines of gradation were 
drawn more sharply and at shorter intervals. This was the 



GRADED SCHOOLS. Ill 

condition of the schools until a high school was established 
in 184G. The grades were now distinguished b}^ the 
names primary, secondary, intermediate, grammar, and 
high. The names for the different grades were afterwards 
very generally adopted in Northern Ohio, and have been 
retained in the Toledo schools up to the present time. 
Grading, in the Cleveland schools, was a growth and not a 
creation. The accommodations and the number of pupils 
which could be collected together, modified the plans 
adopted for the classification of the pupils. The growth of 
the schools into a systematic and efficient instrumentality 
for the education of the youth was rapid and substantial. 

The third city, in the order of tim^e, to take steps toward a 
system of grading, was Dayton^ As the result of the labors 
of Hon. Samuel Lewis, State Superintendent of Common 
Schools, this city secured a. special law similar to the law 
for Cincinnati. In 1839, two- school-houses were built, one in 
the eastern and one in the western part of the city. In 
1841, a city charter was granted to Dayton, and under its 
provisions a board of managers of public schools was 
appointed. The schools were divided into four grades, and 
designated as senior, junior, secondary and primary. This 
plan of grading was adopted in accordance with the number 
of rooms then at the disposal of the board of managers. In 
Dayton as in Cleveland, an outline of studies was marked 
out, and the pupils were transferred from a lower to a higher 
grade on examination ; but no well defined course of study 
was prescribed for each separate grade, in Cleveland, till 
1853, nor in Dayton, till. 1858. The Dayton High School 
Avas established and organized in 1850. At this time the 
schools were well graded and in a prosperous condition. 

Columbus was the fourth city to make an effort to better 
the condition of her public schools. Before 1847, for the 
want of suitable school accommodations, no system of grad- 
ing could be adopted. In 1845, Columbus, by a special law, 



112 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

was made a separate school district. Three school houses, 
each containing six rooms, were erected during the year 
1846, and were ready for occupancy in July, 1847. The board 
of education, deeming it of great importance that more at- 
tention should be given to the schools than they could devote 
to them, determined to create the office of superintendent 
of Public Schools. Thus Columbus was the first city in the 
State to create this office and to elect a Superintendent. Dr. 
Asa D. Lord, having been elected to that office, entered 
upon its arduous duties in May, 1847. He began at once 
to grade and classify the schools, which were at the 
time so unpopular and inefficient that the better and more 
influential portion of the citizens sent their children to 
private schools, which were in a flourishing condition. The 
grades were designated as primary, secondary, and gram- 
mar. Many pupils were found to be too far advanced for 
the grammar school grade. These were organized into a 
higher department, which at the close of the year became 
what has since been known as the high school. Soon after 
the grades were established and the pupils distributed to 
the respective grades for which they were found to be quali- 
fied, a systematic and consecutive course of study was pre- 
scribed by the board for each grade. Among the branches 
of study enumerated in the course, and not usually taught 
in the public schools at that early day, were music and 
drawing. Teachers' meetings were inaugurated for the first 
time, and other means adopted for the improvement of those 
employed as teachers by the board. So efficient did the 
schools become, under the judicious and able management of 
the superintendent, that at the beginning of the second year 
the prejudices of the people were removed, and many of the 
private schools were closed for want of pupils. The success 
of the schools Avas largely attributed to the Avisdom of the 
board in providing for them efficient and able supervision. 
Before the lapse of five years, many other towns and cities 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 113 

followed the example of the board of education of Columbus, 
and placed competent superintendents at the head of their 
schools. 

The public schools of Portsmouth were organized under a 
special law, and were graded and classified prior to 1844. 
The plan of grading was similar to that adopted in the 
cities already mentioned. 

The first movement made in the northwestern part of the 
State towards the improvement of public schools, was at the 
village of Maumee, in 1842. A good building was erected 
and the schools opened, in 1844. The higher department 
was in grade a high school. Perrysburg is reported to have 
established under the Akron law, as extended in 1849, the 
first graded school in the Maumee valley. 

By a special law passed in 1839, Zanesville was made one 
school district, by which the public schools were greatly im- 
proved ; a thorough system of grading, however, was not 
adopted until 1849. The cities and towns whose schools 
Avere organized under special laws authorizing levies to be 
made for building school houses, were the first to make such 
improvements as rendered the public schools efficient. The 
results attained showed that such schools were actually 
cheaper and better than schools conducted as private en- 
terprises. 

The above are all of the cities and towns under special en- 
actments for the regulation of schools prior to the act for the 
regulation of schools in the town of Akron, passed February 
8, 1847. The progress which was made in grading, classi- 
fication, courses of study, and in buildings, did much to 
commend the free school system to the good sense and intel- 
ligence of the citizens of the State. The success attained 
prepared the way for broader and more liberal legislation. 

The impetus which the Akron laAV gave to the advance- 
ment of popular education in Ohio, as the first in which 
the principle of free graded schools was embodied, was so 



114 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

great that a brief statement of its principal provisions seems 
to be necessary. Tlie author of the plan was Rev. J. Jen- 
nings, pastor of the Congregational Church of Akron. The 
law provided for the election of six directors whose term of 
service should be six years. It gave this board of education 
full control of all the schools of the town, which, by a union 
of the several school districts into which it Avas divided, 
became a single district^ and authorized this board to estab- 
lish in the district six or more primary schools and a central 
grammar school ; to fix the terms of transfer from one grade 
to another ; to make and enforce all necessary rules and 
regulations for the government of teachers and pupils ; to 
employ and pay teachers; to purchase books and apparatus; 
to select sites and erect buildings; to certify to the town 
council the amount of money necessary for school purposes ; 
to appoint three persons to act as examiners of teachers, 
and to appoint once each year public examinations at such 
time as the board might deem fit. The law was subse- 
quently amended by limiting the tax for school purposes 
to four mills on the dollar each year. 

The provisions of the law, at the time of its passage, were 
extended to the managers of the common schools of the city 
of Dayton. In 1848, the General Assembly of the State ex- 
tended its provisions to every incorporated town or city in 
the State whenever two-thirds of the qualified voters peti- 
tioned the town or city council in favor of such extension. 
After the passage of this law the public schools of Akron 
were immediately organized. Two primary school houses 
were built, and M. D. Leggett, late Commissioner of Patents, 
was elected teacher of the higher department and superin- 
tendent of all the schools. This law and the operations 
of the first board met with strong opposition from man}' 
wealthy men, who, by their influence, succeeded in reducing 
the tax levy for school purposes from five to four mills on 
the dollar of the taxable property of the town. 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 115 

In the winter of 1848-9, Hon. S. T. Worcester, Senator 
Irom Huron county, and one of the most earnest and able 
advocates of free schools in the State, introduced a bill enti- 
tled, ''A general act for the schools in cities and towns." 
This law, which passed the General Assembly February 21, 
1849, embodied the important features of the Akron law, 
and gave boards of education power to establish not only 
schools of primary and grammar grades, but a higher grade, 
and to decide what branches shall be taught in each and all 
grades. Boards of education were required, by a provision 
of this act, to keep the schools in operation not less than 
thirty-six nor more than forty weeks each year. In 1850, 
the provisions of this act were extended to incorporated 
townships, which should be recognized in law as single 
school districts with all the rights and powers conferred 
upon incorporated cities, toAvns, and villages. These two 
special laws, although bitterly opposed by property-holders 
in localities where they were enforced, gained over to the 
I>ublic school the influence of the majority of the intelligent 
and thoughtful portion of the people. 

The decade between 1845 and 1855 was perhaps the most 
important and eventful one in the history of popular educa- 
tion in Ohio. It was a period of organization. The free 
public school was recognized as a political institution, neces- 
sary for the enlightenment of the people and the welfare and 
safety of the State. The time had come for putting into 
practical operation the carefully matured plans of a few 
earnest and scholarly men, expressing the convictions of 
many noble and intelligent citizens who had long believed 
that the highest good of the State required the education 
of the masses. During the ten years preceding 1845, the 
members of the " Western Literary Institution and Col- 
lege of Professional Teachers," had arrested the attention of 
the intelligent and thoughtful among the people of Ohio 
l)y their discussions of educational topics. The State Teach- 



116 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ers' Association was organized December, 1847, and became 
a potent agency in harmonizing and uniting the efforts of 
the teaching talent of the State. About seventy cities and 
towns in different parts of the State established the free 
graded system within a year or two after the passage of the 
Akron law and the law of 1849. Among these were, Dayton, 
Toledo, Xenia, Chillicothe, Massillon, Marietta, Sandusky, 
Norwalk, Newark, Ironton, Salem, Circleville, Hamilton, 
Lancaster, Painesville, Elyria, Troy, Ashland, Plymouth, 
McConneisville, Bucyrus, Tiffin, Akron, Warren, Eaton, and 
Athens. The schools in each city and town were generally 
divided into five grades, designated as primarj^, secondary, 
intermediate, grammar, and high. In the smaller towns, 
and also in the larger where the buildings were small and 
situated in the different parts of the towm or city, two or 
more grades were placed under one teacher. Only in the 
cities which had erected houses capable of accommodating 
four or five hundred pupils was one grade placed under a 
single teacher. It was customary to connect with the high 
school the senior grammar school, and in villages, the whole 
grammar school dej^artment. The course of study required 
for its completion a period of eight or nine years before ad- 
mission to the high school, and in the latter a period of 
three or four years. Following the example of the Colum- 
bus board, other boards of education employed a superin- 
tendent who was also teacher of the high school. The 
demand for text-lsooks adapted to the different grades was 
soon supplied by authors and publishers, who appreciated 
the advantages which Avould result from a well graded 
series of text-books. The need of suitable school books Avas 
deeply felt, for the teachers, as a general rule, had received 
no professional training and possessed meager literary 
qualifications; consequently, they were poorly qualified to 
give oral instruction, which fact made good text-books a 
necessity. 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 117 

Men were generally placed over the grammar school 
grades, and women over the intermediate, seeondar}^ and 
primary. This seems to have been done, at first, for econ- 
omic reasons; but experience proved that Avomen were 
better fitted by natural disposition and temperament for 
teachers in all the grades below the high school than men. 
Comparatively few men are now engaged as teachers in 
grades beloAv the high school. 

In the year 1849 and 1850, a vigorous effort was made by 
the prominent educators of the State to extend to townships 
and small villages the system of graded schools. It was 
proposed to form a single district by the union of two or 
more districts, the inhabitants of which should unite in 
building one large school house for the accommodation of 
two or more departments. Hence the term "union school" 
as applied to the graded schools of the State. In accordance 
with a resolution of the State Teachers' Association, adopted 
at the meeting in December, 1848, a committee Avas appoint- 
ed to prepare a report on the advantages to be derived from 
union schools, and on the best mode of organizing and con- 
ducting them. This committee consisted of Dr. A. D. Lord, 
Rev. S. S. Rickly, and Hon. H. H. Barney. The report was 
made and published, and had great influence in securing the 
amendment to the huv of 1849 which extended the provi- 
sions of that act to toAvnships and small villages. This 
class of schools has never met Avith the expectations of its 
friends. 

Among the agencies used at this time for the better 
organization of schools, the elevation of the standard of the 
qualifications of teachers, and the introduction of better me- 
thods of instruction, none did more effectual Avork than the 
" Ohio School Journal," edited by Dr. Lord, and published at 
Columbus from 1846 to 1852. Lorin Andre avs, Esq., chair- 
man of the executive committee of the State Teachers' Asso- 
ciation, in a report made December 30, 1851, and published 



118 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

in the Ohio School Journal, makes the following statements 
in regard to graded schools : 

" The passajje of the law of 1849, and the organization of so many 
union schools under it, constitute a higher era in the educational his- 
tory of the State. These schools have greatly elevated the profession 
of teaching, by furnishing so many permanent and lucrative situations 
for teachers, and by requiring of them a much higher order of qualifi- 
cations. They are largely supplying the place of normal schools, and 
are annually sending out well qualified, professional teachers into 
other schools of the State. They are the model schools of their various 
localities, and are rapidly introducing to the favorable notice of teacli- 
ers and citizens, the best methods of teaching and classifying pupils. 
Finally, they are the forerunner, a kind of John the Baptist, crying in 
the wilderness and making the paths straight, for that more glorious 
and more comprehen.sive system of unirersal free education, which, 
before many moons shall wax and wane, like the impartial dews of 
heaven, will distil its blessings alike generously upon every son and 
daughter of this broad State." 

The office of State Commissioner of Common Schools hav- 
ing been abolished by the General Assembly, the State 
Teachers' Association believed that the cause of education 
would be greatly advanced by putting in the field an active 
agent to aid in the organization of schools, to bring before 
the people of the State the advantages to be derived from a 
thorough system of public schools, to lecture before teachers' 
institutes, and to encourage educators who Avere struggling 
against the opposition of the enemies of popular education. 
In accordance with the convictions of the members of the 
State Association, Mr. Lorin Andrews was employed by the 
Association in the beginning of the year 1851, and he con- 
tinued in its employ till the close of the year 1853, when he 
Avas succeeded by Dr. A. D. Lord who held the office till 
September, 1855. During the time these gentlemen acted 
as agents of the Association they conducted teachers' insti- 
tutes in a majority of the counties in the State, and by 
public addresses aroused a deep interest in favor of a better 
organization and classification of schools. Many towns were 
persuaded to adopt the graded school system, new and better 



GRADED SCHOOLS, 119 

school-houses were built, and new life and energy were in- 
fused into those towns which had already adopted the system. 
The spirit of improvement aroused by the public lectures 
and individual labors of these bold, able, and noble men, the 
grand results achieved in the graded schools, and their un- 
answerable arguments in favor of free education prepared 
the Avay for the passage by the General Assembly of the 
general school law of 1853. The ungraded schools at this 
time made so bad a showing, as compared with the graded 
schools, that the feeling was unanimous that something 
ought to be done for their relief. It was claimed by the ad- 
vocates of the graded system that it Avould educate more 
children, it would educate them better, and it would educate 
them cheaper. 

The period between 1845 and 1855 will ever be a memor- 
able one in the history of popular education in Ohio. The 
change which was brought about in public opinion and in 
the condition of the schools of the State, by the efforts of 
I. W. Andrews, Lorin Andrews, Lord, Cowdery, Harvey, 
Freese, Barney, and many others was without a parallel. 
Mr. M. F. Cowder}^, in the annual address delivered before 
the State Teachers' Association, December, 1852, alludes as 
follows to the progress made in educational affairs : 

" In three-fourths of the towns of Ohio, with a x'opulation of one 
thousand inhabitants and upwards, substantial school buildings have 
been erected by the free contributions of the people ; the schools them- 
selves have been more or less accurately classified, thus preparing the 
way in the best possible manner for all other practicable improve- 
ments ; and, lastly, the confidence of the public in the capacity of the 
common school system to afford a suitable education to all, has been 
almost immeasurably increased." 

At this period, or at the close of the year 1855, the free 
graded system was permanently established, met with the 
hearty approval, and received high commendation and sup- 
port from an influential class of citizens who had been the 
enemies of any system of popular education supported at 



120 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the exj^ense of the State and by local taxation. The com- 
pensation of teachers was increased, and the lengthening of 
the school year to thirty-six weeks, and in many schools to 
forty-two, gave them permanent employment. 

The accepted plan of grading was now the separation of 
the pupils, in accordance with their attainments, into five 
grades, designated as primary, secondary, intermediate, gram- 
mar, and high school. The pupils were transferred from a 
lower to a higher grade annually, on passing the required 
final examination in the prescribed studies of their grade. 
The examinations at this time used as tests for promotion 
and for transfer were largely oral. Outside of the larger 
cities little oral instruction was attempted, even in the pri- 
mary grades ; consequently, a greater number of different 
text-books was used in the lower grades than are noAV used 
in the primary schools. In many of the primar}'^ schools, 
the children were required to have text-books in spelling, 
reading, geography, and both mental and written arith- 
metic. In most of the graded schools, as then classified, no 
attention was given to penmanship in the first, second, 
third, and in some cases the fourth year of the school life 
of tlie child, nor was any provision made for drills in lan- 
guage as a preparation for technical grammar. Vocal music 
and drawing were not embraced in the courses of study, ex- 
cept in that of Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus. The 
reading of the Bible was generally a part of the daily ex- 
ercises. 

The regular daily sessions of the graded schools were three 
hours in the morning and three in the afternoon, with a re- 
cess of fifteen minutes each session. 

The buildings erected for school purposes, although sub- 
stantial, were generally defective and inconvenient in their 
internal arrangements, poorly lighted, having no cloak- 
rooms, with narrow halls, and stairways, scarcely any means 
of ventilation, and inadecj^uate heating apparatus. The 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 121 

furniture was severely plain, clumsy, and uncomfortable. 
The seats and desks were each made for the accommodation 
of two pupils. Each room was belted by an ungainly black- 
board, so far above the floor in the rooms for the lower 
grades,'that the children were compelled to stand on tiptoe to 
reach it. Seldom was any effort made to relieve the dingy 
walls Avith pictures or any kind of ornaments. What has 
been written gives a fair representation of the graded schools 
prior to the year 1855. There were, however, particular 
schools at the head of which were men strong in certain 
directions, and who were able to impress themselves upon 
the teachers, and to imbue them with their own notions of 
discipline, order, and methods of instruction, to such a de- 
gree, that their marked peculiarities distinguished their 
schools from other schools of the State. There were men 
of one idea who rode hobbies ; men who tried to do so much 
that nothing was well done ; and there were also men of 
broad scholarship, whose common sense and wisdom led 
them to do well what they did do, and never to go so far 
beyond the people as to defeat their own measures. 

The succeeding twenty years may be characterized as the 
era of the groAvth and improvement in the graded schools 
as now permanently established. All opposition had disap- 
peared. The free public graded school was a popular insti- 
tution. A public exhibition or examination would call out 
an interested audience when nothing else would, and praises 
of the exercises would flow from every tongue. The im- 
provement of the system Avas aimed at by educators in two 
ways : first, to raise the standard of the qualifications of 
^"-eachers and to introduce better methods of instruction ; 
second, to improve the grading and classification of the 
schools. What should be included in courses of study, the 
value of examinations and the methods of conducting them, 
how often examinations should be made, promotions, plans 
of school buildings, ventilation, heating, and discipline 
9 



■122 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

or school government formed fruitful themes for discus- 
sion and experiment. It is impossible to trace the pro- 
gress of the improvement made during twenty years with- 
out extending this paper beyond the assigned limits. It 
will be sufficient to point out some of the great changes 
which have been made, or, rather, to show what the graded 
schools of Ohio now are, and leave the reader to compare 
them with the schools of 1855. 

The need of normal schools was greatly felt by those who 
were placed at the head of schools and by those who aspired 
to become teachers. In the absence of them, other instru- 
mentalities were devised. These consisted chiefly in giving 
incidental instruction in methods of teaching to those mem- 
bers of the public high schools who looked forward to the 
profession of teaching, through examinations in the branches 
required to be taught in the schools, teachers' institutes, 
and teachers' meetings, held at regular intervals for instruc- 
tion in methods of teaching and discipline, and for confer- 
ence in regard to all subjects pertaining to school work. By 
these agencies, the teachers of this State, many of whom are 
eminent in the profession, have received their training in 
professional work. At the meeting of the teachers, those 
who were not well informed in special studies, such as music 
and drawing, were able to obtain the needed instruction. 
Such meetings held weekly or even monthly, when well 
conducted, were the means of accomplishing much good in 
the way of exciting enthusiasm, inspiring confidence, and in 
creating harmony and unity of feeling and action. The 
teachers in a system of graded schools under an energetic and 
progressive superiiitendent, in a short time, by attending 
such meetings, became well qualified for their work, well 
informed in pedagogical science, and were soon able to work 
out for themselves the well-timed suggestions of their super- 
ior, and to put them in practice in their respective schools. 
Teachers of a certain grade were thus often led to investi- 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 123 

gate and experiment for themselves in particular lines of 
school management and instruction, and were put in a po- 
sition to distinguish themselves in special work. Many 
sujierintendents endeavored to gather information wherever 
it could be obtained. As soon as any of these active and 
enterprising men heard a rumor that something new and 
good was being done in a neighboring city or town, where 
there were better opportunities for information and facili- 
ties for experiment, he made a visit to its schools, remainet^ 
long enough to form an idea of what was being done, and 
then returned to present it to his teachers at the teachers' 
meeting. By this means, the graded schools in the smaller 
towns have kept abreast of the age in adopting the improve- 
ments made in the larger cities. 

The grading of schools has depended largely upon the 
size of the town and its buildings. For a prescribed course 
of study covering a period of twelve years, it is necessary 
for purposes of close gi-ading that the number of pupils be 
about six hundred. If these are gathered into a single 
building large enough to accommodate them, the problem of 
grading and classification is easily solved ; or, if the high 
school and grammar school are placed in a central building, 
and the pupils of the primary grades in two different houses 
of four rooms, the grading will be easy. Eight primary 
schools of fifty pupils each are sufficient to form, from trans- 
fers and promotions in the primary grades, four grammar 
schools and one high school of sixty pupils. The above 
arrangement of buildings has been made in but few towns, 
and circumstances compel placing under one teacher two or 
more different grades. In the large towns and cities, diffi- 
culty in regard to buildings of sufficient capacity to accom- 
modate at least the first six grades is seldom encountered. 
School men have generally found it a difficult matter to in- 
duce boards of education to consider the subject of grading 
and classification in their selection of sites and in the con- 
struction of school buildings. 



124 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

No man in Ohio has studied more thoroughly the classifi- 
cation of schools, and done more during the last tAventy 
years to bring about the degree of perfection which has 
been attained in the present system of grading, than Mr. A. 
J. RickofF, now Superintendent of the Cleveland schools. 
Mr. RickofTs attention was called to this important subject 
when, in 1854, he was the superintendent of the public 
schools of Cincinnati. When he entered upon the duties of 
his office he found two classes of schools in operation — the 
district schools and the high schools. He was requested by 
the board of education to make a report upon the expediency 
of organizing grammar schools as a part of the school system. 
To this end, he visited the prominent eastern cities and 
obtained from practical teachers their most advanced and 
approved plans of grading, with a view to economy and 
efficiency in instruction. In *his able report he defines 
classification to be, " The arrangement of pupils according 
to proficiency and capacity for study, into grades, classes, or 
divisions. That system of schools is most nearly perfect 
which enables us to secure the nicest classification. It is at 
once the most economical and most efficient. The most 
economical, because it gives the greatest possible number of 
pupils to the teacher, and the most efficient, because it 
gives to each pupil the greatest possible share of the teach- 
er's time and labor." In accordance with his plan, which 
differed in many points from any plan previously adopted, 
and on his recommendation, the grade known as the " inter- 
mediate" in the Cincinnati schools, was established. So per- 
fect was the grading and classification of these schools at 
this time, that few essential changes have since been found 
necessary. The intermediate, as first established, consisted 
of two grades. By the recommendation of Mr. John Hancock, 
afterwards superintendent, another grade was transferred to 
the intermediate. 

The district schools now comprise five grades, designated 



GKADED SCHOOLS. 125 

by the letters D, E, F, G, and H ; and the intermediate 
schools are divided into three grades, A, B, and C. The 
term intermediate, as applied in the Cincinnati schools, 
comprises the three grades next to the high school ; in other 
parts of the State, it is applied to grades between the pri- 
mary and grammar. The old nomenclature by which the 
grades were designated, has been abandoned, with a few 
exceptions, and instead of the names primary, secondary, 
intermediate, and grammar, the primary and grammar 
schools are designated by letters or the year, as D, C, B, and 
A primary, D, C, B, and A grammar, or as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 
4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th year. In Dayton, the 8th year 
is called the intermediate. 

PEOMOTIONS AND TRANSFERS. 

The use of these terms in connection with schools is 
rather ambiguous. A pupil may be said to be promoted 
when he is advanced from one class to another in the same 
grade — for grades are sometimes divided into classes — or 
when he is transferred from one teacher to another in a 
higher grade. The word transfer is used in two different 
senses by school authorities ; viz., when a pupil in a certain 
grade is sent to another teacher in the same grade, he is said 
to be transferred ; also, when a pupil is promoted from a 
lower to a higher grade, by which he changes teachers, he is 
said to be transferred. In order to avoid confusion of terms, 
in this paper the word promotion has been used to designate 
the advancement of pupils from a lower to a higher class in 
the same grade and under the same teacher, and the term 
transfer to designate the promotion of pupils from a lower to 
a higher grade and at the same time to a different teacher — 
a change of teacher alwa5^s being necessary to constitute a 
transfer. In most all of the graded schools of Ohio, the 
pupils are transferred annually. This usually occurs at the 
close of the school year. As a condition of transfer, the 



126 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

pupils are required to pass a satisfactory examination upon 
all the branches of study prescribed in the grade to which 
they belong. Transfers of individual jDupils who show 
superior ability and attainments in the monthly examina- 
tions, are often made during the year. In some of the graded 
schools, each of the primary grades is divided into two or 
more classes. For example, a school of fifty pupils in the first 
year grade is divided into classes designated as A and B. 
The A class is a little in advance of the B. In this case, 
promotions are made from the B to the A class at any time, 
and transfers are made twice each year. Such a course 
becomes necessary in a system of schools where children who 
reach the legal school age are admitted twice in the year. 
The courses of study in the graded schools of Ohio are broad 
enough for the brightest and strongest pupils, and narrow 
enough for the dullest and feeblest. Seldom, if ever, with a 
competent teacher, is injustice done to any pui)il for want 
of flexibility in the prevailing system of grading. 

EXAMINATIONS. 

In every Avell regulated graded school, the progress of the 
pujjils in their studies is ascertained by examination tests, 
either oral or written, or both. From five to eight examin- 
ations are given the pupils each year besides the final 
examination for the annual transfer. The questions are 
prepared by the superintendant or by some one Avhom he 
designates. In many schools, ten years ago, the standing of 
each pupil, especially in the higher grades, was kept in a 
book Avhich showed his record for each daily recitation. 
From this his preparation for promotion or transfer was 
ascertained. This plan has very generally been abandoned 
— periodical examinations being substituted for it. So 
various are the methods of conducting these examinations, 
and so different are the objects and aims of teachers in the 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 127 

uses "vvhich they make of them, it is riot possible to give in 
approximation any general method which will represent 
even a small number of schools. 



TEACHERS AND SALARIES. 

About ninety per cent, of the teachers are women. Two- 
thirds of them have received their academic education in 
the high schools. As a reward for continuing long enough 
In school to complete the prescribed course of study in the 
high school, and for makii:ig a good record for scholarship and 
deportment, boards of education favor their appointment to 
positions as teachers in the schools. The adoption of this 
principle has done much towards securing a class of teachers 
of fair ability and tolerably broad culture. Still, the want 
of normal or professional training makes the first year's 
teaching an experiment at the expense of the children. 
The basis upon which the salaries of teachers are deter- 
mined is by no means uniform. In some cities and towns, 
the salary is regulated by the grade of school taught, the 
minimum salary being paid to teachers in the lowest grade 
and the maximum to those in the highest ; in others, the 
salar}^ does not depend upon the grade taught, but is deter- 
mined by the experience, tact, success, and ability of the 
teacher. The first principle is pernicious, because it holds 
out an inducement to seek positions in the higher grades at 
the expense of the lower in which the best teaching talent 
is most needed. Where this princijile has been acted upon, 
the experienced and successful teachers have been gathered 
into the grammar schools, and the inexperienced and in- 
competent into the primary— this grade being regarded as a 
kind of purgatory to be passed in order to reach the paradise 
above. The compensation allowed women ranges from two, 
hundred and fifty dollars to one thousand dollars per annuiia,, 
that of men from six hundred to fifteen hundred dollars pei: 



128 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

annum. The high school is not included in this statement. 
Teachers in Ohio, as elsewhere, seek the market which pays 
the highest prices. 

COUKSE OF STUDY AND INSTRUCTION. 

The instruction given in the primary grades is largely 
oral ; in the grammar school grades, chiefly by text-books. 
The number of different studies is greater in the primary 
than in the grammar school — the principle governing the 
assignment of studies being that young pupils are capable 
of learning a little about many things and not much of any 
one thing, while those who are older and in grammar school 
grades, are able to think and to reason, and to learn a few 
things thoroughly. To illustrate, it has been demonstrated 
in some of the larger cities, that children in the first and 
second year who take the study of the German language in 
addition to the prescribed English branches, will accomplish 
as much as those who take English studies alone. Experi- 
ence has also shown that children of the first year who are 
taught to read sentences both in script and print, will read 
more fluently at the close of the year than those who have 
been taught to read only from the printed page. Drawing, 
music, and lessons on objects aid rather than delay the pupils 
in learning to read, count, and write. Language culture is 
made prominent in all the graded schools of the State. 
From the lowest to the highest grade careful attention is 
given to the language of the pupils, to the correction of 
mispronunciation, incorrect use of words, or of faulty sen- 
tences, The truth is acknowledged and acted upon, that 
correct expression is valuable in itself and promotes correct 
thinking. Lessons in language, as now given, are systemat- 
ic and rise gradually through the grades into the study of 
technical grammar, rhetoriCj and a critical study of the best 
English classics. 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 129 

In some of the graded schools, the first lessons in reading are 
given by or through the "word method," and subsequently 
by teaching the phonic elements of the language ; in others, 
the phonic elements and the characters which represent 
them are first taught. Success has attended the use of both 
methods. In arithmetic, processes and operations are care- 
fully taught before principles. In the first year, the pupils 
use counters and deal with concrete numbers. The subject 
is gradually developed, and the pupil seldom encounters 
difficulties which he cannot surmount. 

Teachers have learned much, Avithin the last ten years, in 
regard to oral teaching. It is now recognized that such 
teaching requires much preparation, patient effort, great 
resources, and quick j^erception on the part of the teacher. 
Fragmentary and unsystematic object teaching has disap- 
peared. The elements of the natural sciences are now pre- 
sented in a connected series of lessons which assist in laying 
a foundation for future scientific culture. While the pupils 
are trained to habits of observation and generalization, they 
are also given instruction which will be of permanent value 
should no opportunities be granted to pursue the study of 
these sciences beyond the mere rudiments. 

The following synopsis of a course of study is given as a 
fair representation of that pursued in the graded schools of 
the State as they now exist. It embraces a greater number 
of branches or different subjects than is taught in some of 
the small towns, and perhaps a less number than is taught 
in some of the large cities. 



SYNOPSIS OF A COURSE OF STUDY. 
GRADE I. — FIRST YEAR. 

Reading. — Words, elementary sounds, lessons read from charts, black- 
board, book, in script, and from printed page. Spelling. — By sound and 
by letter all words in reading lessons and other exercises used in the 



130 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

grade ; words spelled orally and by writing on slates and on the black" 
board. Writing. — On slates and with lead pencil on jiaper ; copying 
from lilackboard and from books. Numbers. — Counting to 100, treat- 
ment of numbers from one to ten. Oral Lessom. — Familiar objects, 
colors, verses, and maxims. Draiving. ^-Vree-hand outline, from cards, 
blackboard, memory, dictation. Vocal Music. 

GRADE II. — SECOND YEAR. 

Eeading. ^-Vrom books, papers ; definition, the use of words. S})ell- 
ing, — By sound and letter, oral, and by writing. Writing. — On slates, 
blackboard, paper, in copy-book, small and capital letters. Numbers. — 
Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, tables, problems. 
Language. — Correction of faulty expressions, mispronunciation, uses of 
capital letters, punctuation marks, etc. Oral Lessons. — Animal, vege- 
table, and mineral kingdoms, verses, maxims, etc., etc. Dratcing. 
Vocal Music. 

GRADE III. — THIRD YEAR. 

Reading. — Analysis of lessons, second or third reader used, defini- 
tions, exiiression, vocal drills, voice culture. Spelling. Writing. — Copy- 
book, pen and ink used. Arithmetic. — Notation, numeration, exercises 
in fundamental rules, problems mental and written, dry measure. 
Language. — Making sentences, compositions, describing objects, pic- 
tures, filling blanks, writing names. Oral Lessons. — The human body, 
characteristics of domestic animals, general structure, relative size, 
kinds of food, habits ; buds, flowers, leaves, plants, trees ; points of 
compass, school grounds, idea of distance, direction, etc., etc., Draw- 
ing. Vocal Music. 

GRADE IV. — FOURTH YEAR. 

Reading. — Enunciation, modulation, definitions, reading as an intel- 
lectual exercise. Spelling. — Oral and written exercises. Writing. — Copy- 
book of a graded series in penmanship. Arithmetic. — Text-book used, 
operations and processes in the fundamental rules, accuracy and ra- 
pidity in calculations, problems mental and written. Language. — The 
noun, adjective verb, pronoun developed, inflection of noun and pro- 
noun, subject and predicate, abbreviations, quotation marks, picture 
lessons, letter writing, etc. Oral Lessons. — Swimming birds, scratchers, 
their characteristics; animals, ruminants, etc., etc. Geography. — The 
county, the State, journeys, making maps. Drawing. Vocal Music. 

GRADE V. — FIFTH YEAR. 

Reading. — Fourth or fifth reader, articulation, analyses of lessons, de- 
finitions. Spelling. — Oral and written. Penmanship. — copy-book. Arith- 
metic. — Properties of numbers, greatest common divisor, least common 



GRADED SCHOOLS. 131 

multiple, fractions, principles and rules. Language. — Subject and pre- 
dicate, agreement of subject with predicate, participle, pronoun, prep- 
osition, conjunction, picture lessons, letter writing, punctuation, etc. 
Oral Lessons. — Leaves, parts, venation, roots, seeds, woody plants, trees, 
growth, etc., food plants, wheat, barley, rice, apples, peaches, etc., etc. 
Geography. — Text-book used. Draioing. Vocal Music. 

GRADE VI. — SIXTH YEAR. 

Beading.— Filth or sixth reader. Spelliiig. —JJse of dictionary taught. 
Writing. Anthmetic. — United States money, decimals, denominate 
numbers, tables, principles, compound numbers. Language.— Te:iit- 
book used, exercises in composition. Oral Lessons. — Botany continued 
as in former grade. Geography. — Text-book used. Drawing. Vocal 
Music. 

GRADE VII. — SEVENTH YEAR. 

Reading. — Sixth reader and selections from the best authors. Spell- 
ing. — Oral and written, (text-books used in many schools), defining. 
Writing. — Copy-book, business foiTiis, notes, receipts, etc. Arithmetic. — 
Text-book, principles, fractions, common and decimal, percentage, 
and applications. Grammar. — Etymology, parsing, syntax. Physics. — 
Of nature, gravity, states of matter, properties of solids, liquids, gases, 
forces, moving bodies, heat, expansion, thermometers, etc., radiant 
heat, light, electricity. Drawing. Vocal Music. 

GRADE VIII. — EIGHTH YEAR. 

Reading. — Selections from the works of the best English writers of 
prose and poetry — to be a thoroughly intellectual exercise. Spelling. 
Penmanship. Arithmetic. — Ratio, proportion, mensuration, rules, defini- 
tions, principles, etc. Grammar. — Technical parsing, analysis, syntax, 
practical exercises in composition and in forms of speech. Physical 
Geography. — Text-book followed. United States History. Drawing. 
Vocal Music. In some schools algebra is introduced in this grade. 

HIGH SCHOOL. 

First Year. — English grammar, algebra, chemistry, civil government, 
German, Latin, vocal music, and drawing. 

Second Year. — General history, physiology, plain geometry, geology, 
natural history, physics, German, Latin, Greek, solid geometry, vocal 
music, and drawing. 

Third Year. — Book-keeping and penmanship, trigonometrj^, arith- 
metic, astronomy, political economy, physical geography, rhetoric, 
English literature, botany, Constitution of the United States, German, 
Latin, Greek, vocal music, and drawing. 

Fourth Year. — Psychology, astronomy, physics, Latin, German, 
Greek, reviews. 



132 EDUCATION IN OHIO, 

In most pf the high schools of the State these subjects 
are distributed into four different courses, designated as 
English, German English, Latin English, and Classical. 
The pupils upon entering can elect any one of them. 

In the above synopsis, the aim has been to give the sub- 
jects in the respective grades without any attempt at 
placing them in the order of their development. In the 
grades where text-books are used, the order of the text-book 
is generally followed, as for example, in a series of books on 
reading, geography, grammar, and arithmetic. The same 
may be said of the methods used. 

There is no uniformity aimed at in the use of text-books 
in the graded schools of Ohio. The school authorities have 
been wisely left bjj- the legislators to choose such text-books 
as in their judgment are considered the best. 

Committees have again and again been appointed by the 
State Teachers' Association, to draw up a course of instruc- 
tion adapted to the different grades of schools. Their reports 
have had much to do in bringing about numerous and im- 
portant changes within the last twenty years. There are 
still men of influence and intelligence who oppose the in- 
troduction into courses of study of anything beyond what 
is known as the common branches, and who claim that 
botany, phj'sics, vocal music, and drawing should not be 
taught at the public expense. The same persons oppose 
high schools on the same grounds. It is believed that the 
public sentiment of the j)eople is, however, very largely in 
favor of the free public schools as they now exist, and that it 
will cheerfully support any measures calculated to enhance 
their efficiency and promote their progress. 



CHAPTER IV. 
HIGH SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES. 

EARLY HISTORY. 

The early history of Ohio is very unlike that of Wiscon- 
sin, Illinois, and other recently settled states. The ox team 
and the flat-boat were the means of transportation and con- 
veyance, not through prairies that welcomed their possessors 
with a crop of corn the first year, but through dense forests 
of giant trees Avhich tenaciously claimed the soil as their 
own, and yielded it only to the most stubborn and j^rolonged 
warfare. Leagued with these was the red man, who had 
little conscience about destroying or appropriating the fruits 
of a soil he also claimed. 

Many of the earlier inhabitants, also, had not enjoyed in 
the heart of an already advanced civilization the educa- 
tional facilities ix)ssessed by the earlier immigrants to many 
states now settling. They were themselves, in part at least, 
from frontier ix)rtions of older states, with only a mixture of 
the refinement and culture then attainable in the eastern 
cities and villages. Books which can now be purchased in 
Kansas for a bushel of corn, would have cost these early set- 
tlers ten bushels at least. 

We can not, therefore, as in the new states of to-day, ex- 
pect to see the New England school, with its perfected system 
of support and instruction, springing up at once. Within 
the memory of men now living, however, has been devel- 
oped by seemingly slow steps, and out of a public sentiment 
not a stranger to bitter prejudices regarding educational in- 
novations, a system of instruction for the masses second to 



134 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

none on the globe, and superior to any known to the most 
privileged people of a half century ago. 

Though one thirty-sixth part of the whole area of Ohio 
was, by the Congress of the Confederation in 1785, and by 
subsequent enactments by the Federal Congress in response 
to the territorial and state legislation, set apart for school 
purposes, little or no benefit accrued to the State from these 
lands until 1817 or 1818. Meantime the leaders of public 
sentiment, and Avithout exception the men entrusted, with 
the chief magistracy of the State, had been most active and 
large-hearted apostles of a popular system of education. 
Though many of their earl}'- public declarations on this sub- 
ject seem only to point to a common school education for 
the masses, yet, as indicating the real sentiment of these 
leaders, it must be remembered that the Bill of Rights, in 
1802, contains the provision that, " No law shall be passed 
to prevent the 2^oor in the several counties and townships in 
this State from an equal participation in the schools, acade- 
mies, colleges, and universities within the State, which are 
endowed in whole or in part from the revenues arising from 
donations made by the United States for the support of 
schools and colleges ; and the doors of said schools, academies, 
and universities shall be open for the reception of scholars, 
students, and teachers of every grade without any distinc- 
tion or preference whatever." 

Thus in the very preface of our history as a State, is Avrit- 
ten the declaration, which, in the minds of thinking men, 
could have but one logical result. Whenever the State 
should be wise enough and rich enough to act upon the 
logic taught by republican institutions, not alone the mim- 
imum skill to read and write, but the development of the 
power and habit of thought and consideration that come 
only with such exercise of the mental faculties as is incident 
to academical courses of instruction at least, was to be | ilaced 
within the easy reach of all who Avould accept it. On this 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 135 

principle, the first General Assembly, in view of the appro- 
priation of lands made by the General Government, not only 
established in 1802 the Ohio University " for the education 
of youth in all the liberal arts and sciences, for the promotion 
of education, virtue, religion, and morality," and declared 
that, " institutions for the liberal education of _youth are 
essential to the progress of arts and sciences ; important to 
morality, virtue, and religion ; friendly to the peace, order, 
and prosjDerity of society ; and honorable to the government 
that encourages and patronizes them;" but also connected 
with this institution a preparatory school. This school em- 
' braced studies similar in grade to those of our present hi(/k 
I schools, and it is commonly understood that Hon. Thomas 
1 Ewing, leaving his salt kettles in the Kanawha Vallev, 
' here pursued his hlffh school or academic course, with higher 
studies of the university, from Avhich he was among the 
\ first graduates. 

The history of the establishment of Miami University, in 
connection with the various discussions incident to the 
Symmes Purchase, and the provision therein made for the 
support of an educational institution, show conclusively 
that the early statesmen appreciated better than any other 
idea regarding education the relation which real culture — 
the strengthening of the mind for useful work, and the 
storing of it with available knowledge — sustains to the pro- 
gress, peace, order, and prosperity of society. 

The next legislative action making specific provision for 
; educational work, was the incorporation of the "Erie Lit- 
/ erary Society," in 1803, which resulted in the establishment 
\ of the Burton Academy. 

In 1807, Dayton Academy was incorporated, and a build- 
ing erected on lots donated for the purpose by the proprietor 
of the town. Up to the establishment of public schools in 
1838, this academy seems to have furnished nearly the sole 
means of education to the children, and did much hv its 



136 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

preparation of teachers to introduce improved methods of 
instruction into this part of the State. Its course of study 
embraced most of what is now included in the high school 
course and a preparation for college, and when in 1838 the 
question of the establishment of a public school was put to 
the people, much opposition was developed, owing to the 
doubt as to whether pure morals and thorough instruction 
could be secured in public free schools. Each governor in 
turn had urged the subject upon the attention of the legisla- 
ture. In 1809, Governor Huntington used the following 
language : 

"Sufferme, in this place, to call your attention to the state of our 
seminaries and schools of education, and to recommend them to the 
patronage and encouragement of the State ; it is in a public as well as 
in a private point of view that the State is interested in the diffusion of 
learning and useful knowledge ; where the means of education are 
extended, and the great body of the people are enlightened, the arts of 
designing and ambiiious characters can never succeed in undermining 
the liberties of the country." 

Governor Meigs, in 1810, thus alludes to the subject in his 
inaugural : 

"Correct education -is the auxilliary of virtue; moral science will 
exalt the mind, while ignorance, the badge of mental slavery, de- 
bases it. Where the structure of government rests on public opinion, 
knowledge is of vital interest ; public opinion, to be correct, must be 
enlightened, and the culture of the understanding is the preserver of re- 
pulilican principles. Man informed of his political rights becomes 
reluctant to renounce them. Tyrants govern the ignorant. Intelli- 
gence alone is capable of self-government." 

/" Thus it is seen that the aim of these early statesmen was 
to afford the opportunity for something above the rudi- 
ments of knowledge. The necessity and practicability of 
a broad culture to such as should be ambitious to compass 
it, is indicated in all these early addresses. These appeals 
were certainly not unheeded by the people of the towns 
and villages of the State. Besides the seminaries above 
alluded to, an academy was established in Salem in 1809, 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 137 

one in Gallipolis in 1811, one also in Steubenville in 1814, 
one at Granville, one at Worthington, and one in New Lis- 
bon about this time, and perhaps earlier. 

No doubt many other seminaries were established, and did 
excellent work in the way of preparing young men for 
college and for active life, since Governor Meigs, in the 
same address from which the above extract is taken, pro- 
ceeds as follows : 

" Our schools and academies are advancing in improvement, and 
promise to sanction the hopes entertained of their utility." 

From the earliest settlement of the city, Cincinnati af- 
forded facilities for the education of such of her own chil- 
dren as possessed the money required for tuition, and was 
also prepared to invite such youth from neighboring states. 
Her seminaries of learning were in earh^ days largely pat- 
ronized by the people of the South. Cincinnati College, 
Kinmont's Academy, Dr. John Locke's Academy, Picket's 
Academy for young ladies, Mrs. Ryland's High School, Mad- 
ison Institute, and the Academy of Fine Arts were among 
these private academies. 
' Thus, long before the subject of common schools had re- 
ceived efficient attention, arrangements were perfected for 
securing facilities for higher culture at the expense, in 
some way and to some degree, of the community. This 
state of sentiment is not surprising, since niost of those 
engaged in the discussion of educational questions in these 
early days, Avere themselves men who enjoyed the benefits 
of intellectual discipline and knew its value. There is, 
accordingly, little in their addresses implying a belief that 
the mere ability to read a vote or to write one's name is of 
transcendent advantage to the individual or the common- 
wealth. They knew the value of quickening the intellect 
by study and mental conflict, and observed in the conduct 
of the men around them the results of bringing the lower 
nature into habitual subjection to the intellectual and 
10 



138 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

moral. They therefore j^rized for themselves, their chil- 
dren, and the children of their neighbors the means of at- 
taining these results. They declare that, " the wealth of a 
State is in her mind ; and her true economy, not to say her 
dut}^, isto give full scope to native powers Avhich lie within 
he-r sons." 

Moreover, the early history of such as came from Eastern 
states would incline them to provide, in any system of educa- 
tion, for a course of study sufficiently extended to enlarge 
the faculties and secure correct and valuable mental habits. 
The public school system of New England was never a 
mere common school system. In 1647, Massachusetts pro- 
vided by law that every township with forty families shouhl 
provide a school where children might learn to read and 
write ; that every township of one hundred families should 
provide a grammar school where youth could be fitted for the 
university, and that every township containing five hun- 
dred families should provide two grammar schools. These 
were called "grammar schools" until recently, and were the 
equivalent of our high schools in aim and purpose. 

After the war of 1812 and the partial recovery of the State 
fl'om its effects, the subject of general and of higher education 
became still more an object of interest in Ohio. In 1817, 
Governor Worthington recommended that a high school be 
at once established at the seat of government, at public ex- 
pense, for the thorough education of poor boys for the work 
of teaching. He anticipated all the arguments that have 
been brought forward on this subject at a later day, by the 
broad declaration that if the State was to educate her youth, 
she would gain time and secure superior work if she took 
care that a sufficient number of j^ersons were rendered com- 
petent, by proper moral and intellectual culture, to do the 
work well. 

This suggestion not having been acted upon, in 1818-19 
he presses the subject again in the following words: 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 139 

" From a sense of duty to the State, I must again recommend the 
subject to your attention. Surely, nothing can be more important 
than information to tlie citizens of a free government like ours. In- 
deed, I feel convinced that a perpetuation of that freedom we now 
possess . greatly depends on the means which may be used, under 
Providence, to produce that state of general information which will 
enable the people to appreciate the liberty they enjoy. * * The 
wealthy are deeply interested in sui'h a state of things. Information 
and the practice of moral and religious principles never fail to pro- 
duce order and secure rights of property in society. Information is 
common stock or national wealth ; and in proportion as it is increased, 
are our means enlarged and national liberty secured. " 

The financial depression of the country immediately fol- 
lowing Gov. A^orthington's administration delayed action 
on these suggestions. Gov. Ethan A. Brown and Gov. Mor- 
row repeated the recommendations made by former chief 
magistrates. During the administration of Gov. Morrow, in ' 
1824-5, the first law making a tax for the supj^ort of schools | 
obligatory was enacted. It imposed one-half of a mill on a " 
dollar as a county tax, and did not, as is often asserted of 
the early laws of Ohio, restrict the teaching to the mere 
rudiments of knowledge. Among the most intelligent advo- 
cates of this measure was Mr. Nathan Guilford, of Cincinnati, 
who entertained the most enlarged views regarding the edu- 
cation of youth. His subsequent efforts in procuring high 
school facilities for the youth of his own city, render it im- 
probable that such restriction could have been intended. 
He had a thorough acquaintance and sympathy with the 
New England system of primary and grammar scliools in 
cities, villages, and townships, as is shown in the follow- 
ing citation : 

" Nothing but free schools has ever succeeded in diffusing education 
among the mass of the people M'ho cultivate the soil. The system 
scatters schools in every neighborhood, is within the reach of every 
farmer, and freely offers to the poor tenants of every cabin the means 
of instruction. The yeomanry of every country constitute its sinew 
and strength, and it is among them that those wholesome, honest, and 
home-bred principles are i>reserved, which constitute the safetv and 
honor of a nation. A taste for reading and a desire for further infor- 



140 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

mation are thus created, and the result in New England, where free 
schools have long existed, is that in almost every town and village a 
respectable circulating library is to be found. Their common schools 
are the nurseries of the academies and classical seminaries which exist in 
almost every populous county, and which are the natural consequence 
of the common schools. " 

It is thus seen that in 1824, such men as Mr. Guilford re- 
garded the elementary schools as the most enlightened 
educators of to-day regard them. While it seemed imprac- 
ticable then to provide specifically for high school culture in 
the public schools, and while the effort for such provision 
seemed to take the direction of private or church schools, 
for the most part, there is in the early law no inhibition of 
such culture in the public schools. At all events, there 
seems to have been no hesitation, on the part of citizens im- 
bued with the spirit to do so, to engage persons of liberal 
culture as instructors, and to introduce such subjects 
as natural philosophy, astronomy, algebra, geometry, engi- 
neering, the rudiments of Latin grammar, and other 
academic studies into the public schools. This law in its 
text is as general and liberal in this respect as that of 1838, 
and under the latter, instruction in the high school studies 
above ennumerated was not unfrequently provided for by 
boards of education. 

But we are not left to these negative arguments to estab- 
lish the fact of the existence at this period of most strong 
and intelligent sentiments in favor of fostering means for 
advanced education by the State. In December, 1826, Gov. 
Morrow thus urgently aj^peals to the legislature on the 
subject : 

" With the tide of emigration which has so copiously flowed, were 
had a full supply of those qualified for the liberal professions. We 
have heretofore had the advantage of all the provisions made for edu- 
cation in the original states ; but now, from the comparative density of 
population, and the wider range of settlement toward an extended 
frontier, that flow of emigration has ceased. The society is placed on 
its own ground, with its own means to cultivate native resources, 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 141 

physical, mental, and moral. The inquiry is interesting — are we pre- 
pared, from the i^resent state of the public institutions of learning, to 
become independent in that respect of the older states in the Union ? 
* * * It is true that much has been done for general education by 
the law for the regulation of common schools ; that system, however^ 
is defective, and the hope can scarcely be indulged that, with its 
present provisions, it can be brought into general use. It contains 
not sufficiently the principle of compulsion or inducement to insure its 
general operation ; and experience has shown that without one or the 
other of these, the chance of its being carried into effect is in the in- 
verse ratio to the necessity of its use. Should this system be improved 
by more perfect provision, and the fostering care of the legislature be 
extended to our seminaries of learning, giving them support as they shall 
have means, and the plans for internal commercial intercourse which 
are now in successful progress, be steadily persisted in, the fiattei-ing 
prospect is presented, that this State will rise to the exalted station, 
and continue to sustain that rank among the other states of the 
American Union, which by extent of territory, exuberance of soil, 
and salubrity of climate, she is entitled to hold." 

Additional and most cogent arguments were presented on 
the same subject by Gov. Allen Trimble, who occupied 
the chair of state from 1826 to 1830. It is, indeed, remark- 
able that nearly every thought by which recent appeals on 
this subject have been strengthened, was most forcibly pre" 
sented by the Avise and patriotic men of fifty years ago. In 
one of his messages, he says : 

" To afford to youth the means of instruction, and to facilitate their 
march in tlie pursuit of useful Jcnouiedge, has been the anxious care of the 
wise and good in every age and country ; nor can the political condi- 
tion of that country long continue prosperous and happy, where the 
progress of intellectual and morcd improvem,ent is not commensurate with the 
development of its resources of wealth and power. ■■'" * * No wise govern- 
ment should afford the means of instruction to a few in exclusion of 
the many, but should extend a liberal and equitable patronage. * * * 
It is a melancholy fact, that many of our young men have been and 
now ai'e abroad, for want of the adequate means of instruction at 
home; the consequence of which is a constant drain upon the re- 
sources of the State of a large amount annually, which, if judiciously 
applied, would contribute salutary aid to some one of our home insti- 
tions, and enable the parent wJw serids one son abroad to educate two at 
homey 



142 



EDUCATION IN OHIO. 



The only addition that has been made to this argument,' 
so often presented more recently, is that the money spent 
at home would be doubly useful, even to the educated fami- 
lies, since by educating the neighbor's child as well, it 
creates an intelligent society Avithout which even the most 
favored fall far short of full enjoyment. Even this will be 
found as a hint in a previous extract. ' 

Subsequent statesmen, without regard to party, were 
equally zealous in their advocacy of similar views. We can- 
not refrain from adding one or two extracts among many 
that might be given, which bear directly on the subject of 
high schools. Governor Duncan McArthur, in 1831, thus 
speaks : 

" A system of common schools that will impart to our whole popula- 
lation the benefit of a competent business education, would vastly promote 
the happiness of individuals and the prosperity of the State. The im- 
portance of perfecting such a system cannot be too firmly impressed 
upon your consideration." 

Gov. Lucas, in 1836, is still more explicit : 

"To perfect a system of pubhc instruction, I am convinced that we 
must begin with common schools, and that the most effectual support 
that can be given to our academies, colleges, and universities, will be 
to raise the standard of common schools to that of preparatory schools." 

Gov. Vance, in 1836 and 1838, and Gov. Corwin, in 1841, 
were both most earnest and able in their advocac}^ of every 
practicable improvement of our school system. Gov. Shan- 
non, in 1843, remarked : 

" The advantages and blessings of our common school system are 
beginning to be duly appreciated by all our citizens. It is not, how- 
ever, all we should desire it to be. We should aim to improve our 
common schools, and give to them the capacity of imparting a more en- 
larged and liberal education ; we should seek to elevate the grade of public 
instniction, so as to be in harmony with the progressive spirit which is 
now animating the civilized world." 

Besides the information on the subject rendered available 
by the preservation of the executive messages, the logic of 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 143 

the events of the times and the testimony of many living 
witnesses clearly estahlish the fact that in large commun- 
ities, and in many small ones, local talent was very active 
at this period in urging upon the people the necessity of 
higher culture than that embraced in a mere common school 
course. The organization of every college was the occasion 
of a thorough discussion of the subject of academic and pre- 
paratory education, not only at the seat of the college, but 
in whatever community the denomination or society seeking 
to support it was represented. As the various denomina- 
tions by degrees succeeded in securing incipient endowments 
for collegiate or university instruction, they brought everj- 
community more or less thoroughly under the influence of 
the prevailing arguments on the subject. Thus the intel- 
ligent and impassioned appeals contained in the literature of 
Europe and America, as well as the thought of the best local 
talent, were made familiar to the understandings and effect- 
ive on the hearts of every class of citizens in the State. Not 
only the agents of these institutions, who made the discus- 
sion of topics connected with higher education, a specialty, 
but the local representatives of the churches and associa- 
tions, vied with each other in their efforts to arouse their 
people to an, appreciation of advanced culture. 

We have thus endeavored, to give an outline of the edu- 
cational spirit which through years of hardship and toil 
animated the hearts of the earlier citizens of Ohio, and led 
by logical steps to the interesting era of which people now 
in active life know so much. 

Effects follow causes. With a different early history, the 
present status of Ohio would have been widely different. It 
takes time and labor to enlighten and arouse masses of men, 
and the responsibility of those who assume- to be leaders of 
public sentiment, might be clearly seen by a just compari- 
son of the early history and present condition of other states^ 
with those of our own. 



144 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

We have traced a constant and intelligent advocacy of 
. enlarged provisions for popular education, based less on the 
/ plea of industrial and economical interests, powerful as 
/ these considerations might have been made, than on the 
broad principles of patriotism and humanity — the inalien- 
able right of man to the means of mental and moral growth. 

Up to this time, as has been implied, and for several years 
after, nearly all of what is now known as high school educa- 
tion was provided for in private schools and academies. 
These schools were often of a high character in their day, 
their instructors having the true spirit of patriotic educa- 
tors, and many of them being thoroughly prepared for their 
work by graduation from the best colleges. Young men and 
women flocked to their rooms from a spirited desire to grow 
in wisdom rather than in accomplishments, and the bright- 
est names of the State are of men who never enjoyed any 
other advantages than those afforded in these schools. Bus- 
iness men, lawyers, doctors, statesmen, clergymen, and teach- 
ers here received the inspiration of good and true sentiment, 
met with warm and manly encouragement, arid often with 
little help from class-room drill, mastered most of the 
branches of study now taught in our best high schools. 
Such men as the late Governors Seabury Ford and David 
Tod, Rev. Dr. H. L. Hitchcock, the late learned and elo- 
quent President of Western Reserve College, Judge Reu- 
ben Hitchcock, and many others, prepared for college, or for 
their professional studies in Burton Academy, in 1810-24. 
The seminary at Chillicothe was the great gathering point 
for the youth of the Scioto Valley, and many men of national 
reputation there formed their first habits of intellectual con- 
flict. The same is true of the academies at Circleville, 
Dayton, and Springfield, and of many others, objects of rever- 
ence and grateful remembrance to many a once humble but 
ambitious and j^ersistent youth, now strong in the possession 
of knowledge and of the discipline received in its acquisition. 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 



145 



An account of one or two of these early institutions may 
not be uninteresting to those who know some of the dis- 
tinguished gentlemen who were students in them. We 
give, therefore, an extract from an address delivered at a 
picnic in Columbus, many years ago, by Hon. John R. 
Osborn, now of Toledo. After referring to the more primi- 
tive schools in Columbus — to the one taught by Joseph 
Olds, who, while teaching, prepared a manual on the prin- 
ciples of astronomy, and who afterwards became an influ- 
ential lawyer ; to another taught by Peleg Sisson, and con- 
taining several quite advanced students, thus justifying its 
enrollment in the list of early seminaries of the State, 
though the building afterward became the grocery of one 
Bezee, " who disgraced it by making it the arena of self- 
murder;" and to another opened in a frame building on 
Front street, not far in the rear of the present Neil House, 
and kept by Rudolphus Dickinson, who taught the lan- 
guages to a class of boys — he says : 

" Columbus as a town continued to grow, and the necessity for 
schools became more apparent, but as yet there was no school house 
proper. About the year 1821 or 1822, an organization was had for build- 
ing an academy. The building was a single story frame house, con- 
sisting of two rooms ; having in the then style of furniture, desks 
built around the sides of the ir)om, where scholars could conveniently 
sit, with backs to their teacher, while their eyes unobserved might 
look out at the open windows, or else be employed with pocket knife 
iipon the smooth surface of the desk. It was located on Third street, 
not far from the present Presbyterian Church. One of the earliest, if 
not the first teacher in this building, was A. G. Brown, a graduate of 
Ohio University, a gentle and kind man, a good scholar and a good 
teacher. I remember the Sullivants, McDowells, and Backuses from 
the western, and the Miners, McLeans, and Hoges from the southern 
districts." 

Appro pos to this is the statement among others made to 
the writer by Hon. E. D. Mansfield, LL. D., that the only 
seminary he ever attended was built of logs and over looked 
Mill Creek in Hamilton county. This was in 1811. 



146 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Another of the early educational institutions of the State, 
I)resumably an academy from the hint at philosophical ap- 
paratus, is thus described by Hon. Samuel Galloway : 

" The roof on one side was trough-like, and down toward the eaves 
there was a large hole, so that the whole operated like a tunnel to 
catch all the rain and pour it into the school-room. At first I did not 
know hut it might be some apparatus designed to explain the deluge. 
I called and inquired if the teacher and jnipils were not sometimes 
drowned out. ' We should be,' was the answer, ' but the floor leaks 
just as badly as the roof, and drains off the water.' " 

It is proper to remark that Mr. Galloway did not regard 
this as the best model of an educational edifice. The sub- 
stantial, spacious, convenient, and comfortable school build- 
ings, both public and private, that have come into exis- 
tence within the last twenty years, are fitting evidences of 
the inspiring influence of his eloquence and that of his co- 
adjutors, and of the spirit and enterprise of the citizens of 
Ohio. 

As indicating the sentiment of the leaders of public opin- 
ion in the early settlements of Ohio, especially in such set- 
tlements as endeavored to establish and maintain this class 
of institutions, facts condensed from a well written history 
of the " Norwalk Academy " are given below. This history 
was written by a gentleman among the last to give up the 
plan of providing for higher education by academic institu- 
tions, and his account of the final abandonment of these 
schools for a graded system crowned by the inspiring in- 
fluence of an efficient high school, may be taken as a true 
rejiresentation of the judgment and action of the enlight- 
ened citizens of every part of Ohio. 
/ From the earliest settlement of Norwalk, Huron Co., in 
/ 1816, until 1826, small private schools, taught during the 
/ winter months, afforded the only educational facilities for 
the sparse population. In 1826, an association of gentlemen 
erected a three story brick building, the first and second 
Y stories for an academy, and the third for a masonic hall. 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 



147 



Rev. C. P. Bronson was the first principal, and an enroll- 
ment of ninety pupils was reported the first quarter. The 
tuition was as follows: reading, writing and spelling, per 
quarter, $1.75; arithmetic and English grammar, $2; higher 
English branches, $3 ; Greek and Latin, $4. Besides this, 
each pupil was to furnish "one-half a cord of wood or twen- 
ty-five cents in cash towards warming the building." After 
several principals had succeeded each other in the attempt 
to make the school pay, it united its fortunes to the common 
school, and thus made up a salary of S400 a year for the 
l)rincipal. In 1833, the Methodists bought the building 
and opened a school designed to fit young men for college 
or for active business, intending to make Norwalk an educa- 
tional center for their denomination, the village then having 
a population of 899. They prosecuted the enterprise with 
vigor, and 189 pupils attended the second year, a large pro- 
portion of whom were of such age as "to possess unusual 
zeal in acquiring an education." In 1836, the seminary 
l)urned down, but the school found temporary retreat in 
church basements, and enrolled 137 males and 118 females. 

In 1838, after much canvassing in the East and at home 
for funds, a building was erected, and Rev. Edward Thomp- 
son, afterwards Bishop Thompson, was principal, with Rev. 
Alexander Nelson as assistant. Luicus A. Hine, of Cincin- 
nati, Judge L. B. Otis, of Chicago, W. H. Hopkins, Gov. 
Rutherford B. Hayes, and other distinguished men, were 
long students here, and doubtless look back with veneration 
on the old building and the dingy church basements where 
they pursued their studies, and will remember that good 
and thorough work was done there. Gen. Jas. B. McPher- 
son was also a student in this school. 

From the time of rebuilding in 1838, the institution had 
labored under a heavy debt, and as the Methodists had trans- 
ferred their sympathies to the university at Delaware, it 
was sold to the Baptists, under execution, in. 1846. Rev. 



148 EDU'CATION IN OHIO. 

Jeremiah Hall as principal conducted the school, having 306 
pupils in 1849, and was followed by A. S. Hutchins. The 
writer of the history referred to above says : 

" It was a vigorous, popular, and thorough institution, aiming to 
qualify its pupils for the business of life, or lit them for entrance into 
the higher departments of collegiate study, and but for influences that 
had been agitating the public mind for several years, it might still 
have continued a valuable institution. 

" The people of Ohio had become thoroughly awakened to a neces- 
sity of better and more efficient i»ublic schools. "■•■' ••■ * In April, 
1850, the question of adopting the union school system was submit- 
ted to a vote of our people, and bj an almost unanimous vote it was 
adopted. A board of education was elected, and Mr. D. F. DeWolf 
appointed Superintendent. 

" This system once fairly inaugurated, the private schools began to 
decline. The popular pride was concentrated in the support of the 
public schools. Our best citizens accepted positions in the board of 
education, and those who had been the most efficient in sustaining 
seminaries now became the champions of free schools, with the de- 
termination to make those of our village fully equal to any private 
school or seminary -we ever had. 

" The result of this state of feeling was, that in March, 1855, the Xor- 
walk Institute was purchased by the union school district, together 
with library and apparatus, and Mr. Hutchins became the Superinten- 
dent of our public schools. " 

The names and statistics of thirt3^-one academies which 
are now found reporting more or less regularly to the State 
School Commissioner, and the names of 161 others known to 
have flourished in different parts of the State, are neces- 
sarily omitted for want of space, 

RECENT HISTORY. 

The law of 1838, making the school tax a state instead of 
a county tax, and creating the office of State Superintendent 
of Common Schools, was an event of great importance in 
the progress of the school work in Ohio. The world could 
hardly have presented a fitter man for the office than Hon. 
Samuel Lewis. So large-hearted that he could not refrain 
from laboring for the good of his kind, he turned, for the 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 149 

time being, all the resources of his nature into the interests 
entrusted to him. 

Public spirit was everyAvhere aroused, and a general long- 
ing for a more thoroughly organized system and better indi- 
vidual schools characterized the period. Several of the 
colleges of the State were in a very active and flourishing 
condition. The disposition of the students to make their 
way by teaching a part of the time furnished excellent 
schools in many places for certain months of each year. 

Educational journals Avere established, advocating im- 
provements and imparting a large amount of knowledge 
and earnest persuasion on the subject from the pens of such 
men as Horace Mann, Henry Barnard, and others. Many 
of these articles abounded in telling facts regarding the ad- 
vantages of education to the manufacturing and business 
interests of the country, gathered from the statements of 
leading manufacturers and men in active business. The 
Secretaries of State who succeeded Mr. Lewis as ex officio 
superintendents of common schools, were also efficient, and 
each in turn, b}^ his carefully collected statistics accom- 
jmnied by eloquent reports and appeals, co-operated with 
every effort of the people, the teachers, and the legislature 
to promote improvements in the system of education. 
Teachers' associations in various parts of the State were 
active, individual benevolence was ready with its contribu- 
tions, and the tide of poj)ular feeling set strongly in the 
direction of abandoning the system of select schools and 
l)rivate academies for a more generous, more practicable, and 
more efficient system of higher instruction. This was especi- 
ally true of the decade from 1845 to 1855. Of course, the actual 
progress in a state so large and variously peopled as Ohio, 
seemed slow to those who constantly directed their most 
earnest thoughts to the subject ; but when considered from 
the point of view now reached, embracing the wonderful 
change in public school edifices and other physical appli- 



150 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ances, together with the advantages that have accrued to 
systems of instruction in consequence of the retention in 
the profession, by better salaries, of the skill and wisdom 
secured by years of apprenticeship and experience, the revo- 
lution has really been most rapid and complete. The 
awakening during this decade is, in this view, remarkable 
and well worthy to be remembered. It has been pronounced 
by men of other professions as superior to any results effected 
in any country, even in this age of rapid changes. 

The Hon. Samuel Galloway, in his report of 1847, uses 
the following language : 

" It is manifest from an extensive correspondence with influential 
and intelligent gentlemen in different parts of the State, that there ex- 
ists an abiding determination to invigorate and perfect onr conimon 
school system. It is equally ajiparent, that any legislative action to 
advance this object will be hailed with enthusiasm, and aided by a 
zealous co-operation. 

"There are some practical evidences of improvement, which indi- 
cate the coming of a brighter day. Within the past year, several 
teachers' associations, or institutes, have been formed under encourag- 
ing auspices. In one or two of our cities and in several towns, large 
and commodious houses have been erected, and other extensive 
preparations made for a more perfect organization." 

The interest taken in educational progress by prominent 
citizens of Ohio Avas probably never so marked as during 
this decade. The influence, of Mr. Lewis and his successors 
in office, led strongly to this result. The personal influence 
of several leading educators of that day was also remarkably 
efficient in the same direction. Among these will be re- 
membered the names of Dr. Asa D. Lord, of Lake Co., 
Lorin Andrews, of Ashland, M. D. Leggett, of Akron, M. F. 
Cowdery, of Sandusky, Andrew Freeze, of Cleveland, T. W. 
Harvey, of Lake Co., Milo G. Williams, of Springfield, -J. 
C. Zachus, of Dayton, Reuben McMillan, of Columbiana, 
Co., W. N. Edwards, of Troy, M. F. Hollenbeck, of 
Maumee, Dr. Joseph Ray, I. J. Allen, H. H. Barney, and 
others, of Cincinnati, and in the latter part of the decade. 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 151 

Rev. Anson Smyth, of Toledo, A. J. Rickoff and Cyrus 
Knowlton, of Cincinnati, Hon. J. D. Cox, of Warren, and 
President I. W. Andrews, of Marietta College. 

Intelligent teachers and school authorities in the larger 
cities opened correspondence with the boards of education 
and other friends of the cause in eastern cities. The 
answers to these letters were published in the newspapers 
and educational journals. Much light concerning the or- 
ganization of schools was thus disseminated, and much 
interest awakened on the subject. 

Among these instances, H. H. Barney and Dr. Lord, at 
the time of the establishment of the high schools of Cin- 
cinnati and Columbus, in 1845-6-7, opened an extensive 
correspondence with those who had witnessed the elevating 
and energizing effect of high schools upon all the depart- 
ments of the common school system. We have recorded 
our belief that reforms are never the result of a sponta- 
neous uprising of the people, but that effects everywhere 
follow causes. As illustrative of the means of carrying 
On the work of improvement, and in accordance with , the 
wish of the writer to support his assertions by document- 
ary evidence, several extracts from the letters as first 
published in the " Public School Advocate, and High 
School Magazine," are inserted. These extracts will fur- 
ther indicate that the high schools of Ohio are the result 
of a well matured conviction in the minds of the early 
friends of education as to their essential importance in a 
s,ystem of public school instruction. They show that the 
schools are in no sense an after-thought engrafted on the 
common school system of Ohio, but a recognized necessity to 
the existence of such a system. 

The formers of public sentiment knew then, as well as we 
know now, that those states or communities which had at- 
tempted to sustain a sj^stem of common schools without free 
high schools, had signally failed, and that in the nature of 



152 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

things they must fail, since they could not secure the co-oper- 
ation of the better classes of society. They understood, and 
often declared, that if the " better classes " should ever become 
interested in public schools, it would be because they saw in 
them the means of educating their children up to the point 
generally required by them, more cheaply and better under 
their own eyes than abroad. The high school was with them, 
therefore, the very point in issue. Failing in this point, the 
whole question of the existence of an efficient common school 
system would have been lost. 

The following accounts of the influence and important 
advantages of high schools to a system of common schools 
as such, are therefore as useful to-day as they were when the 
sentiments were penned. The experience of all Ohio cities 
has confirmed their truth. They form an important part of 
the history of the high schools of the State, though written 
in other states, since they form an important part of the 
arguments by which these high schools were finally estab- 
lished. 

Hon. Charles McClure, then Superintendent of Public In- 
struction in Pennsylvania, in speaking of the High School of 
Philadelphia, said : 

" The influence exerted by the High School of Philadelphia upon 
other schools, is very apparent and highly beneficial. The pupils of 
the lower schools look forward to admission into it as a most desirable 
promotion, which operates as a stimulus to excite them to an earnest 
application to the acquisition of learning. This influence pervades all 
the other schools, and without it I cannot believe the school system 
could be so eminently successful as it now is in Philadelphia. A strong 
argument in support of this opinion is found in the fact, that in the 
first nineteen years after the introduction of the public schools in this 
city, there were but seven thousand jmpih ; whereas, in six years from 
that time, the number of pupils was increased to nearly thirty-five thou- 
mnd." 

The following is from the report of the Controllers of the 
Public Schools of Philadelphia : 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 153 

"The influence of the high school upon the other schools is believed 
to be worth more than all it coste, independent of the advantages received by its 
actual pupils. * "•■'' * * The privileges of the high school are held 
forth to the pupil as the reward of successful exertion in the lower 
schools. They are kept constantly and distinctly in view, and operate 
as a powerful and abiding stimulus to exeition through all the succes- 
sive stages of promotion. "'■■ * "••■ •■■ The influence is felt by those 
who do not reach the high school quite as much as by those who do." 

The following is from a gentleman of Providence, R. I. : 

" The high school was the only feature of our system which encoun- 
tered much opposition. When first proposed, its bearings on the 
schools below, and in various ways on the cause of education in the 
city, was not clearly seen. But now it would be as easy to strike out 
the whole, or any other feature in the system, as this. Its influence is 
seen in giving stimulus and steadiness to the workings of the lower 
grade of schools ; in giving thoroughness and expansion to the whole 
course of instruction ; in assisting to train teachers for our city and 
country schools, and in bringing together more advanced pupils, of 
either sex, many of whom, but for the opportunities of this school, 
would enter on the duties and business of life with an imperfect edu- 
cation." 

A gentlemen from Brattleboro, Vermont, writes : 

" The high school has now taken deep root in the affections of the 
community, and is sustained and cherished by the most ardent exer- 
tions and wishes of all. In the same school-room, seated side by side, 
according to attainments, are children representing all classes and con- 
ditions of society. * * '•■ •■■ Envy and jealousy have given place 
to kindness and respect. Such was not the case when we had four 
select schools in this town, not one of which now remains." 

Robert Kelly, President of the Board of Education of New 
York city, said : 

" The recipi'ocal action of the ' Free Academy ' (the Free High School) 
and the common schools, is highly advantageous to both. It benefits 
them by the introduction of uniformity, by exhibiting in immediate 
comparison the skill of teachers, as evidenced in the preparation of the 
candidates they furnish for the Free Academy ; by raising up among 
the people a body of well prepared teachers, * * * "■•• and by the 
incitements it constantly presents to the industry of all the scholars 
in the common schools." 
11 



154 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Mr. Havemeyer, Mayor of the city, said : 

"To hold out the strongest of honorable incentives to diligence in 
improving the opportunities afforded bj' the common schools ; to gen- 
erate a salutary emulation among the vast numbers whose education 
is to be received, and whose characters are to be formed in them, is an 
object of the greatest importance. And how can this be so fitly and so 
Avisely done as by the establishment of high schools, by holding out 
the assurance that those who avail themselves most faithfully and 
eflfctually of the advantages offered in the common schools,' shall have 
the opportunity of gratuitous instruction in the higher departments 
of learning? It acts most beneficially upon the whole mass of those 
who are embraced in the inferior departments. For my own part, I 
cannot regard with indifference anything which is calculated to im- 
prove our system of public instruction. It is our chief security for 
good government, and the protection of the rights of persoiis and 
property." 

The following extracts are from equally high authorities : 

" The influence of the high school has been to produce a greater de- 
gree of thoroughness, and a better attendance in the common schools. 
It opens to the poorest child an avenue by which he can be admitted 
to the realm of knowledge, not as a charity, but as a right, and without 
humiliating conditions." 

"The influence of the high school is decidedly manifest in elevating 
public sentiment in reference to the advantages of common schools, 
and the value of general education. It presents also a powerful and 
abiding stimulus to the scholars in the lower schools, to greater dili- 
gence and effort, to qualify themselves to gain admission, so that even 
our grammar schools are far better than our best schools, public or 
private, before this system was introduced. Nor can the benevolent 
mind contemplate, without high satisfaction, its results in imparting 
a gratuitous education of an elevated character to hundreds of chil- 
dren, whose means are totally inadequate to secure it in private 
schools." 

Extracts of a similar nature might be greatly multiplied 
from these letters. 

It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the minds of the 
present generation, not only that our school system has been 
most considerately shaped, but that our State itself differs 
from other states in the Union in consequence of the power- 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 155 

fill and persistent efforts of those who assisted to form public 
opinion in the crisis of her history. It is difficult to realize 
that in man}^ parts of our State there existed as much in- 
difference as then characterized those states which arc now 
far behind Ohio in evidences of intelligence and thrift. It 
is equally difficult to accept the truth that but for such 
effort Ohio would have continued in this condition, as other 
states failing or refusing to make equal efforts have done. Un- 
til we do realize this, we cannot estimate our debt of grati- 
tude to the noble men of the past, nor can we be sufficiently 
awake to the necessity of like action to preserve and en- 
large for others the blessings we enjoy. 
/ Appeals to pride, to interest, to patriotism, to humanity, 
and to the religious sentiment, were multiplied as the field 
of labor enlarged and the people manifested a disposition to 
act. Mr. Galloway's report for 1846, contains the following : 

" No one possessing the pride proper for a citizen can abase himself 
by entertaining the idea tliat other states whose resources render them 
less capable of high achievement, shall tower above Ohio in all those 
enduring elements which indicate advanced civilization, and invest 
human nature with imperishable renown. 

" There are considerations which show that popular education, a 
distinguishing privilege of our institutions, is also our highest policy. 
Intelligence is the life of successful enterprise. " 

Vigorous correspondence on the subject was also estab- 
lished, by the state superintendents, with all parts of the 
state. County auditors and others were called on for their 
views, and their letters during those years, constitute a large 
body of well expressed popular sentiment in favor of the 
improved s^'stem of public schools. These sentiments, by 
the distribution of the Superintendents' Reports, reached 
large numbers of citizens in every county of the State. 
Coming as the expression of popular sentiment in their own 
state, these views awakened an interest in all portions of 
Ohio, and its different regions vied with each other in secur- 
ing good leading teachers and good school buildings. 



156 EDUCATION IN OHIO, 

According to the measure of previous intelligence in each, 
community, and sometimes without reference to this intel- 
ligence, but under the influence of a few leading minds, the 
whole state moved forward many degrees in their interest, 
as manifested by liberal appropriations for high school 
houses, on well considered plans, and in commanding and 
convenient localities. 

Some of the individual members of other professions, and 
of the higher ranks of teachers, who during this period were 
especially active in their efforts to promote public high 
school education, deserve at least a passing notice. Among 
those who contributed by their pens in the journals, or by 
addresses at important local associations of teachers, should be 
named Hon. George Willey and Hon. Harvey Rice, of Cleve- 
land, Rev. Asa Mahan, D. D., Rev. Chas. G. Finney, D. D., 
Rev. Edward Thompson, D. D., Rev. W. C. Anderson, D. D., 
President of Miami University, I. W. Andrews, L. L. D. 
President of Marietta College, Rev. E. N. Gerhart, D. D., of 
Heidelburg College, Rev. James Fairchild, D. D., of Oberlin, 
Hon. James Monroe and Dr. N. S. Townsend, of Lorain Co., 
Hon. Samuel T. Worcester, of Norwalk, Prof. Harris and 
Prof. F. Merrick, of Delaware. 

The eloquence and personal efforts of such men all over 
the state, did much to render the subject of advanced educa- 
tion in th.e public schools popular* and thus to strengthen 
them where they had been organized, and to facilitate their 
general introduction. 

We cannot forget, nor fail highly to appreciate the gener- 
ous public spirit of railroad officials in their patriotic disposi- 
tion to advance the cause of public education, by a free use 
at this time, of their power to reduce fare for delegates to 
and from teachers' institutes and associations. They thus 
contributed greatly to assist in arousing public sentiment, 
informing the people, and facilitating an intercourse among 
teachers, which has proved to them the very soul of improve- 
ment. 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 157 

Besides all this, inducements Avere offered in different 
places for the sessions of these associations, the enterpris- 
ing citizens feeling richly repaid for the gratuitous enter- 
tainment of the members, by the lectures and other means 
made use of in these meetings to stimulate an interest in 
the subject of popular education in their communities. Not 
only were teachers entertained at their annual gatherings, 
but feted by boat rides and social levees, so kindly did the 
hearts of the people incline to invite this progress. This 
greatly encouraged the teachers and stimulated them in 
their work. In other cases, leading citizens devoted their 
time and talerit to the work of improving their schools, in 
many cases not Avaiting for special legislation or for any 
change of general laws, but proceeding at once, under the 
law of 1838, to establish high school departments in connec- 
tion with the common schools. 



EARLY HIGH SCHOOLS IN SMALLER PLACES. 

In the winter of 1842-3, the people of Maumee, then a 
flourishing village, held a meeting at which Gen. John E. 
Hunt presided, and the present Chief Justice Morrison R. 
Waite, Dr. Horatio Conant, Oscar White, and others were 
present, and voted a tax to build a suitable house for schools, 
including a high school. In the winter of 1843-4, a good 
public high school was established in this house, by Thomas 
Lane, A. M., a superior teacher from Canandaigua, N. Y. 
This school has been kept up till this day. A new school 
house, a brick structure, erected in 1869 at a cost of $30,- 
\ 000, is " a model school building with model heating ar- 
\ rangements." 

Among the high schools organized under the general law 
of the State, there was one in the village of Fitchville, 
Huron Co., which may, perhaps, be taken as the repre- 
sentative of popular sentiment in many other places then 



158 EDUCATION IN OHIO, 

containing enterprising eastern families, some of 'whom, in 
the decay of these smaller places, have found their way to 
railway centers, and have lent their aid to larger and more 
permanent enterprises. In September, 1846, the Avriter of 
these pages found completed in this then enterprising vil- * 
lage, a beautiful two story school building, supplied Avith 
the most approved furniture and with a room for apparatus. 
In the upper room of this house there was opened a high 
school, in which were taught all the branches then com- 
monly taught in preparatory schools. Public exhibitions 
of the school soon supplied many pieces of apparatus, and 
for several years the school turned out a goodly number of 
3'^oung men and women with a high school education. 

Time and space Avould fail to mention other schools of 
this character which within the knowledge of the writer 
came into existence about this time in different villages in 
the northern part of the State. No doubt many were estab- 
lished in other parts of the State also. Thus, while the 
larger towns were still practically oblivious to the advanced 
education of all children except those of parents rich 
enough to patronize the academies, these smaller towns 
were already awake. The existence of similar enterprise 
in other small towns, is indicated in reports of Hon. Samuel 
Galloway. In 1847, he said : 

" Frequent representations are made to this department, of the op- 
pressiveness of many directors in prohibiting aiy branches being 
tj\ught in the schools over which they have jurisdiction, except read- 
ing, writing, and arithmetic. This they have the power to do, by a 
strict construction of the present law. It is strange that men should 
so stultify themselves by an irrational exercise of power, and virtually 
limit the advancement of pupils. It may be suggested as a sufficient 
corrective of this grievance, that more enlightened men may be chosen 
by the people, if those in power act unworthily." 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 159 



SANDUSKY HIGH SCHOOL.^ 



Hon. Eleutheros Cooke, Henry F. Merry, and Hon. Foster 
M. FoUet of Sandusky, besides taking an interest in the sub- 
ject of education throughout the State, were active, with 
others, regarding the schools of their own city. In 1844, they 
found the public schools Avorthless, and reorganized them. 
The building intended for the high school was first occupied 
for the purpose in 1845. The branches then taught in it 
were reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geog- 
raphy, Latin, French, philosophy, chemistry, and physi- 
ology — algebra and astronomy being added the next year. 
Tuition expenses for the school year were $808.61. In 1847 
and 1848, principals were paid $35 per month. In Novem- 
ber, 1848, M. F. Cowdery, already a teacher of large experi- 
ence and excellent reputation in Lake county, was em- 
ployed to take supervision of all the schools of the city, 
which still worked' under the general law of the State. He 
acted in this capacity till July, 1871, with the exception of 
a few months. Mr. Cowdery was also principal of the high 
school till 1852, his wife, a lady of ripe scholarship, experi- 
ence, and judgment, being his first assistant. LTnder this 
management, the high, school soon became noted through- 
out the State. Many teachers of that day made pilgrimages 
to it, and received their first definite ideas of a Avell man- 
aged and well taught school'. It did much to aid in the 
development of public sentiment in favor of public high 
schools. 

The citizens for many years entertained peculiar views 
regarding the study of languages in the public schools, and 
excluded them, but the progress of events restored them in 
due time. This high school has generally maintained a 
good reputation, and for twenty years and upwards has been, 

*In the preparation of the following summaries of particular high schools the writes; 
is in great part indebted to, the local "Histories of. Educational Work." 



160 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

regarded by the intelligent citizens of Sandusky as an es- 
sential part of the public school system of the city. The 
strongest testimonial of the value at which it was esti- 
mated, was given in the erection, in 1866-9, of a building 
for the high school, at a cost of $85,500. Between 1855 and 
1873 the high school graduated 176 jDupils, of whom 48 were 
young men. The graduates are occupying prominent posi- 
ions in business, and in professional and social circles. A 
large number of them have engaged in teaching in the 
city schools and elsewhere. 

The following are the names of the Principals of the High 
School: M. F. Cowdery, 1848-52; S. S. Colton, 1852-67; A. 
Phinney, 1867-9; N. S. Wright, 1869-71; E. S. Wellington, 
1871-3 ; Miss E. Patterson, from 1873 to the present time. 

CLEVELAND HIGH SCHOOLS. 

In the spring of 1846, the Mayor of the city, George 
Hoadley, Esq., in his inaugural address to the council, made 
the following recommendation : 

" I earnestly recommend to your favorable consideration the pro- 
priety of establishing a school of a higher grade — an academic depart- 
ment — the pupils to be taken from our common schools according to 
merit. This would present a powerful stimulus to study and good con- 
duct. The poorest child, if possessed of talents and application, might 
aspire to the highest stations in the Republic. From such schools we 
might hope to issue the future Franklins of our land." 

Accordingly, on the 22nd of April, on motion of J. A. 
Harris, it was voted that a high school for boys be estab- 
lished, and that suitable rooms be rented and fitted up for 
its accommodation. Basement rooms in a church on Pros- 
pect Street were rented. Andrew Freese, of the Prospect 
Street Grammar School, was appointed Principal, and the 
school went into operation July 13, 1846, with 34 pupils. 
The number of pupils for the year was 83. 

The school register contains the following observation by 
the principal, under " General Remarks : " 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 161 

" April 19, 1847. — Fourteen girls were admitted this term. They do 
not come up the standard, and I doubt the policy of admitting girls at 
all into this department." 

The rules of the board took it for granted that girls were 
not capable of mastering the higher mathematics, and hence 
they were permitted to advance only to "quadratic equa- 
tions " in algebra. This was the limit for girls until 1854, 
when Mr. E. E. White took charge of the school. The first 
class of girls permitted to take the full course in mathe- 
matics stood considerably higher, on the average, than the boys ! 

It was thought by some that the high school had been 
illegally established, and the expediency of opening such a 
department was doubted. Accordingly the " high school 
question" became one of lively debate among the people. 
Those who opposed the school — chiefly the heavy tax- 
payers — said that no other city or town in the West main- 
tained a school of this character, and while they were willing 
to be taxed to maintain common schools, they did not desire 
to support public high schools and colleges. 

The city council appointed a special committee to ex- 
amine the subject. A majority of this committee reported 
that in their opinion the school was established in violation 
of law, and that " it is inexpedient to support a high school 
at the charge of the common school fund." A dissenting 
minority report was also submitted. 

The friends of the school now appealed to the people 
through the newspapers. A mass meeting was called, and 
Dr. Fry, of the St. Clair Street Grammar School, J. A. Briggs, 
Esq., and Bushnell White, Esq., ably advocated the measure. 
The legality of this measure was ably sustained by an 
appeal to the law of 1838, which provided that directors 
of schools in any incorporated town, city, or borough 
might establish schools of different grades, and ordain 
such rules for the duties and discipline of such schools 
as they might think conducive to the public good. The 



162 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

1)oard of school managers, consisting of Messrs. Charles 
Bradlnirn, T. P. Handy, Samuel Starkweather, and William 
Day, in their report for that year to the city council, argued 
the expediency of this enlargement of the common school 
system, saying in conclusion : 

" It is our firm conviction, that the system is essential to the success 
of our pul)lic scliools, and that it is the only Avay in which they can l)e 
made in truth wliat they are in name, common schools — common to all ; 
good enough for the rich, and cheap enough for the poor — such schools 
as will meet the wants of all classes in the community." 

No action of the council was taken on the committee's re- 
port ; but in the following winter, 1847-8, the friends of the 
school secured a law by which the city council was " author- 
ized and required " to establish and maintain a high school 
department. The battle was over, but partly by reason of 
unfriendly feelings toward the school, and partly, perhaps, 
from ignorance of its needs, appropriations by the council 
were inadequate for its support, being barely sufficient 
to keep it in existence. For two or three years the outlay 
of money per annum was about as follows : rent of base- 
ment, $100; fuel, $25; incidentals, $25; salary of principal, 
$500 ; salary of one assistant, $250. Total expenses $900. 
The average number of pupils for three years was 80 ; so 
that the cost per scholar was low enough, one would sup- 
pose, to satisfy the most scrupulous in matters of expendi- 
tures. It did not do so, however. Fault was found, and 
the school was pointed to as an unnecessary extravagance. 
The work of the school was done by two teachers up to the 
fall of 1852, when an additional assistant was employed. 
The course of study embraced the branches usually taught 
in high schools, excepting the languages, which were not 
added until 1856. The teaching force was small, and classes 
had often to be heard out of school hours. 

The necessities of the school were pressing, and the efforts 
put forth by teachers and pupils to supply them were 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 163 

courageous. The bo3^s of the school from time to time pur- 
chased a few pieces of apparatus to illustrate natural sci- 
ence, until the collection was worth upwards of $500. They 
earned this money by giving lectures, chiefly upon chem- 
istry, and by doing small jobs in surveying. Occasion- 
ally they received donations of money from their friends. 
They purchased material and laid up with their own hands 
a ])rick laboratory. " There is scarcely a principle in mechan- 
ical philosophy, or other physical sciences, that they did not 
illustrate by machinery of their own construction." They 
published a small monthly paper. This yielded much fun 
and some money, and was useful in other ways. A gentle- 
man of Cleveland to whom the writer is indebted for most 
of the facts in this sketch, remarks: 

"These matters seem trifling, and are so, in themselves, but they 
belong to the history of the Central High School, as showing how that 
department was develojjed out of the growth below, was a necessity of 
that growth, and therefore normal. The enterprise and pluck of the 
boys of that day, mostly poor, is something phenomenal; and the 
unflagging exhibition of spirit, in their i^ursuit of knowledge under 
difliculties, had more to do with satisfying all classes of people that 
such an institution ought to exist and be maintained by the city, than 
all the arguments that had been made in its behalf. Opposition 
gradually died out. Leonard Case, the wealthiest man in the city, 
held a warm interest in this school, and on one occasion made the 
" l)oys in the basement" a handsome donation by way of encour- 
agement. 

" Subsequent classes have pursued a greater number of studies, and 
in some instances advanced farther in the branches taken than did 
those eml)raced in the first catalogue. But in history, general reading, 
English literature, ready and correct writing of the language, inextem- 
l)oraneous speaking or lecturing, and especially in debate, no class is 
recollected to have equaled it. In the class were many who are now 
eminent in the city as professional or business men ; others, in new 
homes, have achieved distinction ; and others still have occupied high 
official positions, and done the State and the nation distinguished 
service. They made the school a miniature world of work and con- 
flict, and they grew by every struggle. It scarcely admits of question 
that the earnest, practical spirit of teacher and pupils, more than com- 
pensated for the increased facilities of the present day." 



164 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The lot on which the present high school building stands 
was purchased in 1850, and in the following 3'ear a cheap 
wooden structure was put up on it for the temporary accom- 
modation of the school. The Central High School building 
was erected in the spring of 1856. 

Cleveland has now a high school in the central, one in 
the western, and one in the eastern part of the city. No 
other city in the Union seems to manifest more pride in its 
public schools. Though she has had difficulties to contend 
Avith, her public schools from the first have been blessed 
with active, enthusiastic, persistent, and intelligent friends. 
They are now provided in all the departments with excel- 
lent buildings and apparatus, with well qualified teachers 
and a liberal supply of vigilant supervision. As in other 
cities, the lower grades owe their superiority to the success- 
ful establishment of the high school, and the consequent 
final enlistment of intelligent classes of society in the pub- 
lic school system. 

Andrew Freese, Dr. Theo. Sterling, W. A. C. Converse, 
and S. G. Williams, Ph. D., have been Principals of the Cen- 
tral High School. Dr. Williams is now Principal of this 
school, and Superintendent of the three high schools. 

CINCINNATI HIGH SCHOOLS. 

Cincinnati had among its first settlers a number of enter- 
prising, intelligent men, who would be likely to see to it 
that facilities for the education of their own families were 
not wanting. Yet, up to a late period, comparatively little 
really effective work was done for the promotion of common 
schools in the city. What schools of this name existed were 
maintained in inferior out-of-the-way houses, and not until 
annual processions of the children of these schools developed 
the fact to the astonished citizens that the}' were really 
human, and capable of being washed clean, dressed neatly, 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 165 

and kept so for at least a gala day, was any attention be- 
stowed on them. Through these and similar means the 
schools gradually came into notice, and they rose in 
importance, until in February, 1845, a special law was 
secured for the thorough reorganization of the schools 
throughout the city. Up to this time, excellent seminaries, 
which have been heretofore noticed, had existed for those 
who could afford to pay tuition in them. But no public 
high school was opened in which the children of rich and 
poor alike could enjoy superior advantages, until 1847. 

The first high school established in Cincinnati as an 
adjunct of the common school, Avas the " Central High 
School." It commenced operations July 27, 1847, in the 
])asement of the German Lutheran Church, on Walnut 
Street. Those early and staunch friends of education, Chas. 
S. Bryant, Bellamy Storer, William Goodwin, Dr. John A. 
Warder, and D. R. Cady, constituted the committee on 
whose report the school was established. 

Its first principal was Hon. H. H. Barne}'. It commenced 
with an attendance of 39 boys and 58 girls, but shortly 
grew to large proportions. Its curriculum of study consisted 
of moral and political science, belles-lettres, and composi- 
tion, ancient and modern languages, ancient and modern 
history, natural philosophy, penmanship, chemistry, botany, 
anatomy and physiology, vocal music, book-keeping, etymo- 
logy, reading, and declamation. This high school was dis- 
continued in 1851, when the Woodward High School, and 
tlie Hughes High School were established. 



ORIGIN OF THE WOODWARD AND HUGHES HIGH SCHOOLS. 

William Woodward was an upright farmer, of frugal 
habits and simple tastes, a good, true, and humane Chris- 
tian man. Long before his death, he found himself possessed 
of wealth by the approach of the corporate limits of Cincin- 



166 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

nati to a farm which he owned, and to which he had moved 
from Connecticut when Cincinnati Avas a liamlet. He and 
his friend Samuel Lewis had consulted together regarding 
the education of y<)ath and its rehition to human happi- 
ness, and especially to the welfare of his country. He had 
no hesitation in determining that it was his duty to render 
actual assistance, then much needed, in furnishing educa- 
cational facilities for youth who could not procure them for 
themselves. He transferred to trustees that part of his farm 
lying nearest to the city as an endowment for the estab- 
lishment and maintenance of schools — providing in his deed 
of trust, that orphans and the children of widows should 
have the preference of admission to the school. Mr. Lewis 
being the chief manager of the trust, the revenues were 
well husbanded, and a successful school was kept up for 
some time. The State common school system was after- 
Avards inaugurated, and rendered this, as a lower grade 
school, superfluous. On the advice of Mr. Lewis, the condi- 
tions of the trust were so modified by Mr. Woodward as to 
allow of the establishment of the " Woodward College or 
High School." On the union of the high schools and the 
common schools, the original Woodward High School build- 
ing was taken down, and the present beautiful building 
erected, which is a monument to his memory and creditable 
to the taste and judgment of the board of education. 

Mr. Woodward lived to witness the full success of his 
scheme, and to enjoy the heart-felt gratitude and ever- 
increasing esteem of his fellow-citizens and countrymen. 

The farm of Thomas Hughes, an Englishman by birth, 
and a practical shoemaker until his death, joined that of 
Mr. Woodward. The latter had little difficult}^ in directing 
the mind of Mr. Hughes into his own channel of thought. 
As a result, he bequeathed his land to William Woodward, 
William Greene, Nathan Guilford, Elisha Hotchkiss, and 
Jacob Williams, in trust. The land Avas leased on a per- 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 1G7 

petual ground rent, and the accumulation of a fund awaited, 
sufficient to erect a building for a school to be supported by 
the future revenues. Losses and delays were occasioned by 
failures and consequent lawsuits on the part of parties to 
to whom the interest in these leases had been sold. Matters 
Avere finally adjusted, and the city was put in possession of 
the annual revenues. 

In 1852, these two funds Avere united and merged in the 
city school fund — the Hughes fund amounting to $12,000 or 
$13,000. The Hughes High School building Avas erected at 
a cost of $23,000. The reports noAv shoAv the annual receipts 
from the two funds to l^e from $11,000 to $12,000. 

These funds greatly facilitated the supply of early edu- 
cational advantages to the youth of Cincinnati, and now 
afford the means for securing special conveniences or special 
instruction Avithout burdening the tax-payers. Hon. H. H. 
Barney became Principal of the Hughes High School, and 
Dr. Joseph Ray Principal of the WoodAvard High School, in 
1852. Under these eminent teachers the schools at once 
assumed a position of great dignity among the educational 
institutions of the country. They did much to attract the 
attention of educated and influential citizens of the State 
to the subject of public high school education. It Avas noAV 
no longer doubtful that the public high schools, supported 
by appropriations of the public funds sufficient to secure 
the services of the most accomplished educators of the land, 
must possess facilities for imparting thorough culture un- 
known to any other schools, and under such relations to the 
family and other social privileges as are congenial to every 
intelligent parent. The Avarm and hearty support of these 
schools, Avith the active co-operation of such men of culture 
as Wm. Goodman, Dr. James La Roy, Rev. Jas. H. Perkins, 
Hon. Samuel LcAvis, Nathan Guilford, Wm. Greene, the Hon. 
Bellamy Storer, E. D. Mansfield, E. S. Brooks, and others of 
the highest social position, did much to overcome the preju- 



168 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

dices of more common minds, and to place the public schools 
of the State on the highest plane of respectability. The 
best families patronized the schools. They were visited from 
all parts of the State. The cities that had not secured pub- 
lic high schools felt an additional impulse to act in this 
direction, and " the people's schools " were regarded as in all 
repects the most desirable institutions to foster. All that 
had been claimed for them in the earlier discussions of their 
merits was realized. 

The Principals of the Hughes High School have been H. 
H. Barney, Cyrus Knowlton, J. L. Thornton and E. W. Coy. 
The Principals of the Woodward High School have been 
Dr. Joseph Kay, D. Shepardson, M. Woolson and Geo. W. 
Harper. 

AKRON HIGH SCHOOL. 

As marking still further the growing sentiment of the 
times, and as largely contributing to this growth and to the 
facilities for meeting its demands, the action of the people 
of Akron is highly interesting. The following account of 
the condition of the schools of that village up to 1846, needs 
only a change of names to be applicable to a large number 
of cities and villages of that era : 

" There were, in 1S46, 690 children between the ages of four and six- 
teen, of whoni there was an average attendance in pubUc and other 
schools of 375. During the summer of 1846, one of tlie district schools 
was taught in the back room of a dwelling-house, another in an un- 
couth, inconvenient, uncomfortable building, gratuitously furnished. 
Private schools were taught in rooms temporarily hired and unsuited 
to the purpose. Heading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, and grammar 
were more or less attended to in these schools. " 

Rev. J. Jennings, then a young man, and pastor of the 
Congregational Church of Akron, is credited with giving 
definite direction to the new influences. Meetings of the 
citizens were held, Mr. Jennings actively collected informa- 



• HIGH SCHOOLS. 169 

tion, and a definite plan of procedure was agreed upon. 
Hon. L. V. Bierce and H. B. Spelman were especially promi- 
nent in securing the required legislation. The result was 
the ^' Akron School Law," afterwards so largely adopted by 
the other cities of the State. True to the dictates of enlight- 
ened reason, the first thought was the establishment of a 
high school as a point of attraction and permanent interest. 
A pleasant lot of two and a half acres was purchased, and a 
house fitted up for a grammar school, or incipient high 
school, in the summer of 1847. M. D. Leggett, late Commis- 
sioner of Patents, was employed as a teacher of this high 
school and superintendent of all the schools, at a salary of 
$500 a year. In 1849, many tax payers opposed the pro- 
visions of the first law, as conferring too much power with 
respect to taxation. This power was then restricted to four 
mills on the dollar. Houses had to be built and lots paid 
for, and the consequent forced parsimony of the board of 
education lost to them the services of Mr. Leggett. The 
l)ranches taught in the high school were the higher common 
English branches, history, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, 
physiology, natural philosophy, mental philosophy, chem- 
istry, book-keeping, and phonograjDhy. Botany and English 
literature came in at a later day. Compositions and declama- 
tions were required once in four weeks. Latin and Greek 
were taught during the first two years, and were then 
dropped, in opposition to the sentiment of the citizens, but 
in accordance with the prevailing sentiment of the board, 
"■ that a good practical English education is all that any one 
has a right to expect or exact at the hands of a generous 
pul)lic." As if the "generous public" would be giving this 
instruction asked for to any others except to this same 
generous public itself. Accordingly, in August, 1865, 
Latin and Greek were again admitted by resolution of the 
board. 

The superintendents were for some years also principals 
12 



170 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

and teachers of the high school. Their work was, indeed, 
mainly that of instruction in this department. Several 
"new periods" marked the development of these schools, 
however. In the eleventh annual report, the board declared 
their conviction that " the low wages principle was not the 
best economy. " They also expressed a grave doubt whether 
their schools have maintained their relative rank in the 
State. Acting on this view, in 1857 a principal was engaged 
at $1,000 a year. 

Another "new^ period" was reached in 1868. With new 
men and new business success and prosperity, larger and 
more liberal views had come to prevail. Akron had no in- 
stitution or interest it cherished as it did its schools. " The 
board cast about for teachers who had obtained a really high 
rank in the profession. There were not many such, and 
the demand was large. " 

Finally, together with a general superintendent at a 
salary of $2,500 a year, Mrs. N. A. Stone, of state wide repu- 
tion as a teacher and discipinarian, was employed and 
put in charge of the high school, at a salary of $1,500. The 
leading features of an improved management of the high 
school under Mrs. Stone, were thoroughness in preparing 
lessons, an animated, accurate, and full recitation of them, 
and more polite deportment. 

The high school graduated its first pupils in 1864, and has 
graduated 86 in all. The average attendance in the high 
school, in 1875, was 112. Musical instruction runs through 
this and the other grades. 

Miss Maria Parsons is now Principal of the High School. 

COLUMBUS HIGH SCHOOL. 

In 1847, through the intelligent advice of Dr. A. D. Lord, 
Superintendent, the board of education of Columbus opened 
a school for the accommodation of the most advanced pupils, 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 171 

under the immediate direction of the superintendent, who 
devoted half of each day to teaching. Before the close of the 
year, this school became so large that the academy building 
on Town Street was rented for it, and another teacher was 
employed. This was the origin of the Columbus High 
School, and the board, at the close of 1848, made gratifying 
mention of the change in public sentiment within two 
years. 

Better families now "eagerly patronized the high school 
and soon afterward the lower grades. With teachers meet- 
ings, improved methods of instruction and disciiDline were 
instituted. In 1848, a course of study was adopted for the 
high school, and under the efficient management of Dr. 
Lord this school offered to the poor and rich alike far better 
facilities at a less cost than those which had hitherto been 
enjoyed by the rich alone. 

This high school has n(3t only gradually advanced with 
the general progress of methods of instruction, but has con- 
tributed to that progress, esi^ecially in later years, and in 
the particular department of physics, more perhaps than 
any other high school in the State. In this respect, it can 
probably divide the honors with the earlier achievements of 
the Cleveland high schools already recited. It has num- 
bered among its principals and teachers some of the most 
active and efficient educators of the West, who have 
maintained, and some of them in an eminent degree, the 
reputation of the school. The most satisfactory results have 
followed a liberal provision for skilful special teachers in 
this school. With several able assistants, among those most 
prominent, T. C. Mendenhall, now Professor of Physics 
in the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State, the 
Columbus High School has done much to add to the reputa- 
tion of the public high schools of Ohio. It has not only 
effected this directly through the scholarship of its own 
classes, but by inspiring and directing to better efforts many 



172 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

a novitiate or long-time groveler in the profession. Its four 
years' course of study embraces the ordinary academic course, 
including zoology and botany, and thorough instruction in 
music and drawing, the latter a recent addition to the 
course. It offers a diploma for any one of four courses : 
English, German, Latin, and Classical. 

The following are the names of the Principals of this 
school : Dr. A. D. Lord, 1847-53 ; A. Samson, 1853-55 ; J. F. 
Follett, 1857; Horace Norton, 1857-61; Geo. H. Twiss, 
1862-4; Jonas Hutchinson, 1864-6; H. S. Westgate, 1866-8; 
Chas. R. Payne, 1868-70; A. Brown, 1870-2; E. H. Cook, 
from 1870 to the present time. 

DAYTON HIGH SCHOOL. 

In 1847, the board of education procured the extension to 
Dayton of the provision of the Akron school law. In 1848, 
the principals of the school petitioned the board for the 
privilege of teaching some of the higher branches, to meet a 
want expressed by many of their more advanced pu2:)ils. 
They stated that many of their best scholars were draAvn 
from the public to private schools from the lack of this 
instruction. They therefore desired to introduce the ele- 
ments of algebra and geometry, and perhaps physiology and 
natural philosophy." A committee of the board rejDorted 
that it would not be wise to introduce such instruc- 
tion in the district schools, but recommended the establish- 
ment of a high school. It was not, however, until 1850 that 
decisive action was taken. On Aj^ril 15, 1850, the school Avas 
opened, James Campbell being Principal. In the fall of 
1850 it was removed to the "academy building," the free use 
of which was granted by the trustees to the board of educa- 
tion. In June, 1857, this property Avas donated to the board 
of education, and during the same year the old building Avas 
removed and the present high school building erected. 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 173 

The course of stud}'-, now occup3'ing four years, has been 
enlarged from time to time, until it embraces all the 
branches usually pursued in the best city high schools. 
Latin, or its eqivalent — German or French — is required to be 
studied by all the pupils. Greek is taught, but compara- 
tively few desire to study it. A Ihrge number of pupils 
has been prepared for college in the high school, and many 
of them have taken high rank in their classes. In 1857, 
the salary of the principal was $1,200; in 1867, $1,500; in 
1875, $2,000. 

In 1857, the total enrollment of pupils in the high school 
was 101; in 1867, 154; in 1875, 238. The first class was 
graduated in 1854, and consisted of two members ; the class 
of 1864 consisted of 32 members. The total number of grad- 
uates is 122 males and 238 females. 

A citizen of Dayton refers to the graduates of the school in 
the following manner : 

" The graduates of the first class are now teachers in our public 
schools and have always ranked among the best. No one familiar 
with our city, can glance over the list of graduates, and trace their his- 
tory as teachers in our schools, or as filling prominent positions in 
business circles and society, without being impressed with the noble 
work accomplished by this school." 

The following gentlemen have been Principals of this 
High School: James Campbell, 1850-8; John W. Hall, 
1858-66; William Smith, 1866-72; Charles B. Stivers, from 
1872 to the present time. 

THE TOLEDO HIGH SCHOOL. 

The first school-house was erected in Toledo in 1834, and 
up to 1849 the entire iDublic school system of the town was 
comprised in three district schools, having, in the year 1849, 
an enrollment of 389 different pupils, the enumeration of 
youths from 5 to 21 being 1010. In the spring of 1849, the 
citizens, after some discussion of the subject in the papers, 



174 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

adopted the main features of the Akron law. They at once 
established a graded system of schools. In the spring of 
1852 the report shows 38 pupils in a high school taught in a 
temporary building provided for it. 

In the meantime a lot, 480 by 200 feet, then worth 
$8,000, and now $80,000, was purchased. In 1854, the main 
part of a well-i^roportioned and really beautiful, though 
plain, high school building, in the Italian style of architec- 
ture, was completed. It was 5Q by 112 feet in size, and 
three stories high. A wing was added in 1859, making the 
whole building, with lot and furniture, worth $175,000. It 
contained six large study rooms, ail assembl}- room 56 by 88 
feet, and twenty-two smaller rooms for recitations, labora- 
tory, and offices. It seated 712 pupils. A part of the rooms 
have been devoted to the grammar schools from the first. 

The course below the high school embraced a period of 
eight 3'ears. The classification and course of study in the 
high school in 186G, were as follows : 

Fourth class. — Arithmetic, granular, elements of algebra, and botany; 
or for a Latin-English course, instead of English grammar, two terms 
of Latin lessons. 

Third class. — Natural philosophy, universal history, botany, algebra, 
l^hysical geography ; or in place of algebra, Latin grammar and trans- 
lations into Latin. 

Second class. — Geometry, rhetoric, astronomy, chemistry, English his- 
tory, political economy, zoology ; or Latin grammar, translations into 
Latin, Sallust, or Virgil, in place of geometry, astronomy, and chem- 
istry. 

First class. — Geology, Paley, trigonometry, surveying, mental phil- 
osophy, moral science, logic ; or Latin composition and Cicero's ora- 
tions in place of trigonometry and surveying. 

A classical course also prescribed for second class, Latin 
as above, and Crosbj^'s Greek granmiar and lessons; and for 
first class, Latin as above^ and Anabasis, Homer, and Greek 
composition. In all the classes, penmanship and vocal 
music under special teachers; reading, spelling, composi- 



HIGH SCHOOLS, 



175 



tion and declamation, weekly ; tri-weekly debates and lec- 
tures ; daily physical exercises and moral instruction ; draw- 
ing, painting, and German, optional. 

This course has been somewhat modified since, by adding 
French as optional, and putting physical geography a year 
earlier, also United States history. It dropped Paley, logic, 
and surveying; added a through course in jDhysiology; sub- 
stituted a complete course of English literature for moral 
science, and introduced a full course of historical reading 
running through the whole high school. 

As representative of the growth of the public school sys- 
tem in the State for the last twenty-fivo years, and the pres- 
ent ratio of attendance, the following table is inserted. It 
shows the population of Toledo, and the actual enrollment 
and average attendance in the high school of that city, for 
each period of five years since 1850, with an accompanying 
year to show the rate of increase more clearly: 



Year ending Aug. 31. 


Population. 


Enumeration. 


No Pupils 
Enrolled. 


Average At- 
tendance. 


1850 

1854 


3,829 


1,010 

2 122 

2!979 

3,044 

3,388 

4,147 

5,392 

8,875 

9,248 

10,611 

11,468 

14,541 


"'72 

93 

108 

123 

86 

70 

147 

167 

293 

306 




1855 






1859 




94 


1860 

1864 

1865..... 


13,768 


102 
61 
43 


1869 




117 


1870: 


31,584 


133 


1874! 


234 


1875 




'>45 


1876: 


54,000 


344 







The following table exhibiting the number of pupils in 
each study in the high school, during 1874-5, is inserted as 
an average exhibit of the work being clone in the high. 
i?chools of Ohio : 



176 



EDUCATION IN OHIO, 



Reading 306 

Spelling 306 

Writing 306 

Arithmetic 306 

English Grammar 306 

Composition 306 

Vocal Music 306 

Physiology 328 

Phj'sical Geography 128 

General History 306 

Botany 85 

Natural History 85 



Chemistry 57 

Natural Philosophv 57 

Mental Philosophy 38 

Astronomy 38 

Geology > 57 

Rhetoric 38 

P^nglish Literature 38 

German 89 

Latin 42 

French 63 

Drawing 146 



The two sexes are seated in the same room. The halls, or 
passage ways, however, are at different sides of the room, so 
that the sexes are entirely separate except in the study and 
recitation rooms. This is believed to be the rule in all the 
high schools of Ohio, although there are known to be some 
in which the sexes are seated in different rooms for study, 
but reciting together. 

The high school graduated its first class of three pupils in 
1857. Its whole list of graduates comprises 86 gentlemen 
and 196 ladies. Of these, 79 have been or are now teachers 
in the public schools of the city. Large numbers are occu- 
pying leading positions in the manufacturing, commercial, 
and professional interests of Toledo. Very few of these have 
failed to reflect credit on the school, and many of them have 
honored it in an eminent degree. 

Ever since its thorough establishment, persons of superior 
scholarship and experience and good moral culture have 
stood at the head of this high school system— in all cases 
graduates of our first-class colleges. They have at all times 
been assisted by ladies of superior endowments and social 
and moral excellence, at salaries varying from $600 to $1200 
a year. The breadth and thoroughness of scholarship, and 
of accomplishments even, attainable in the school, have 
left no inducement to the citizens to seek aid from private 
schools. The methods of instruction have advanced with 
the general improvement in the art of teaching, and with 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 177 

the advancement of science, as both are indicated by the 
text-books and in treatises on teaching. 

Besides this, it is thought that some special points of 
progress have been made in the practice of illustrating by 
drawings the various lessons in the physical and natural 
sciences. This practice is carried through all the grades, 
from the crude drawing of the first shell or leaf in the oral 
lessons of the lower grades to the really perfect drawings of 
animals, and of plants and their parts, in the high school. 
The practice not only incites to practical efforts in the 
drawing classes, but greatly facilitates the acquisition of a 
definite knoAvledge of the sciences themselves. Since 1856, 
speciar instruction has been given in drawing. 

Another peculiar characteristic of this school consists 
in the fact that from 1859 to 1869 an ample room was fitted 
up with a complete set of aparatus and used as a fixed 
gymnasium. It received classes of each sex separately 
from the upper departments of the school, which classes 
were conducted by a competent master. The citizens, during 
this time, took great interest in these exercises. Since the 
room was forced from this use to the purjKXse of a study room, 
free gymnastics have been required in all the schools, and 
most of the people seem satisfied with them. The young 
men of the city have not abandoned the gymnasium, how- 
ever, but have secured other quarters for it. 

Still another characteristic of the school, worth mention- 
ing, perhaps, is the voluntary military organization con- 
nected with it — the Myers Cadets, consisting of a full com- 
pany of 83 pupils of the public high school, thoroughly 
drilled, armed, and uniformed. A band of 16 pieces and a 
drum corps of 20 members, are also uniformed and furnish- 
ed. The whole expense of this equipment was the donation 
of J. W. Myers, Esq., a former member of this high school. 
Admission into and retention in this company are con- 
ditional on regular attendance and orderly deportment in 



178 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the school, and on abstinence from tobacco, intoxicating 
liquors, profanity, and ungentlemanly conduct. 

Great credit is due to the board of education and to sev- 
eral individual members in particular, for the interest they 
have manifested in whatever pertained to the advancement 
of this school. Gen. C. W. Hill has for twenty-six years de- 
voted a larger proportion of time to the buildings and schools 
than, perhaps, any other official in the State has done. Dr. 
Bliss, Dennison Steele, Lucius Wadsworth, Alonzo Rogers, 
and -J. W. Myers, all now dead, were exceedingl}^ attentive 
to the wants of the teachers and schools. John R. Osborn, 
Matthew Shoemaker, Calvin Cone, J. M. Gloyd, and others, 
have given the schools strong support on important ques- 
tions of law, or in financial straits. 

With scarcely an exception, after the graded system was 
inaugurated, the intelligent citizens of Toledo united to 
establish and support the high school. The wealthiest fam- 
ilies took great pains to conform to the most exacting re- 
quirements as to the attendance of their children, and 
thoroughly supported the authority of the teachers. They 
cheered the instructors and pupils by their frequent presence 
in the school. They contributed addresses on public occa- 
sions, and in every way evinced their interest and pride i^n 
the school. Dangerous opposition has sometimes developed, 
but up to the present time the greater the dangers of this 
kind, the more hearty has been the support of the intelli- 
gent citizens. 

R. M. Streeter, A. M., Mary E. Dennison, a graduate from 
Antioch College, and A. A. McDonald, are at present Princi- 
pals of the High Schools of Toledo — each having separate 
and exclusive charge of distinct grades. 

GENERAL SUMMARY. 

In the above sketches of particular public high schools, 
the attempt has been made to exhibit the gradual develoj)- 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 179 

ment of such schools in the State, first giving the previous 
condition of schools in the larger communities, and in such 
smaller ones as have become historic by their early special 
eftbrts in the work of progress. In doing this, the oppor- 
tunity has been improved to present what is known of any 
special characteristics of the schools referred to. Indeed, 
the general progress of the system of teaching in the State 
has resulted from the interchange of special experiences and 
views among educators, through institutes, associations, and 
the "Ohio Educational Monthly," or from visits to different 
schools. Hence, many items which were specialties in par- 
ticular schools for a time, have so long since become general 
in the State that their origin has been forgotten. Happily 
very little jeasousy exists among teachers in this regard. 
All are glad to be able to contribute to the general improve- 
ment of the schools of the State. 

The greater part of the account of the high schools of 
Cleveland and Cincinnati has been condensed from manu- 
scripts kindly furnished from these cities. The accounts of 
tbe Dayton, Columbus, and Sandusky High Schools, are the 
result of personal knowledge and a perusal of early reports 
and recent " Local Histories." A large number of interesting 
facts might be added to the above regarding many other 
schools of the State, whose early friends are entitled to equal 
credit. 

Massillon was among the earliest to move in the improve- 
ment, Mr. Arvine Wales and Dr. Bowen being among the 
most active promoters of the interest, and Lorin Andrews 
and T. W. Harvey being the first principals. Urbana turned 
its flourishing seminary into a public high school on the 
adoption of the Akron law, in 1849, with W. D. Henkle as 
principal. The Troy High School, under Mr. W. N. Edwards ; 
the Perrysburg High School, under A. D.Wright and Edward 
Olney; the school at Xenia, for many years under Mr. Geo. 
S. Ormsby; that for twenty years under Mr. Joseph Welty, 



180 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

at New Philadelphia ; those at Youngstown, Zanesville, 
Warren, Hamilton, Salem, Circleville ; these, and many 
others, have histories of great interest, and have done their 
full share in perfecting the system of instruction, and ren- 
dering the high school system of Ohio a success. 

The whole number of high schools in the State is not less 
than two hundred. This is indicated, at least, by the large 
numl)cr of additions that have by correspondence been made 
to the list contained in the State Commissioner's report. 

Well 1)uilt and commodious high school edifices are not 
confined to the few largest cities of the State. Sandusky 
has a high school building costing over $80,000. Bucyrus,- 
with some 5,000 inhabitants, has a house costing over $60,000. 
Wauseon, Napoleon, Maumee, Perrysburg, Tiffin, Findley, 
Kenton, Lima, Fremont, Wooster, Gallon, Mansfield, Lan- 
caster, Portsmouth, Chillicothe, GalliiDolis, Newark, Steu- 
benville, Salem, Akron, Painesville, Elyria, Oberlin — in- 
deed most of the leading towns of the State — have houses 
well adapted to the size of the respective towns, and costing 
from 610,000 to $40,000 each. Many of these houses, if not 
all, are, however, built to accommodate not only the high 
schools, but other grades also. It has been found impossible 
to give statistics as to high school buildings alone. The fol- 
lowing shows the progress in expenditures for public school 
buildings since the establishment of high schools was begun. 

The cost of lots and of school houses built was — 

In 1851 $109,303 

In 1860 341,273 

In 1871 703,084 

The total value of school houses in the State was, m 1874... 18,829,586 

In cities and villages 11,214,369 

Increase in the former from 1873 to 1874 1,170,310 

PRESENT SENTIMENT IN OHIO REGARDING HIGH SCHOOLS. 

Extensive observation and correspondence, together with 
current printed testimony, authorize, it is believed, the fol- 
lowino; statements 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 181 

1. The great mass of such citizens of the leading towns 
of Ohio as give any attention to educational interests, have 
had but one sentiment, for many years, regarding the neces- 
sity of a good high school to the success of a system of public 
schools. They have not doubted the superior advantages 
attainable with the same teachers in a school for which 
most of the members are regularly and carefully prepared in 
such lower grades as have a logical relation to this school, 
and under a management responsible for the work of each 
department in its relation to other departments. 

2. The average age at which classes now reach the higher 
dejiartments indicates the saving of time effected by a 
system of instruction related in all of its parts. 

8. The age at which pupils enter the high school from 
the lower grades is also generally taken as an indication of 
the increased number of youth who are likely to pursue the 
elements of the higher branches of study, and the statis- 
tics showing the attendance upon the high schools bear out 
this suggestion. 

4. The influence of the high school on the attendance 
and enthusiasm of the pupils in the lower grades, as attested 
in eastern cities, is fully appreciated and affirmed by friends 
of general culture in Ohio. 

5. Recognizing the fact that for the large mass of even en- 
terprizing citizens, the limits of school life for their children 
are from six to sixteen or eighteen years of age, they also see 
that any attempt to provide a system of education for these 
classes, must be much more efficient, complete, and econo- 
mical of time and money, if the whole period of school life is 
embraced under one sj^stem. 

6. The sentiment is believed to be gaining ground 
through the influence of these schools, that it is poor 
economy to withdraw pujDils from school before the powers 
of the mind have been sufficiently developed to be put to 
substantial work. The relative growth of faculty and 



182 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

power, under the more enlarged influence of high school 
studies, is beginning to be better understood. As the desire 
to secure these results, both in sons and daughters, is becom- 
ing mor6 general, the necessity for the high school in close 
connection with the lower grades of schools becomes more 
and more generally apparent. Youth are frequently ex- 
horted by citizens to continue a course of study for which 
the lower grades have so well prepared them to pursue Avith 
advantage. The falling off in numbers between the gram- 
mar and high school is accordingly diminishing. 

7. The proverl)ial uncertainly concerning the continued 
existence of private high schools and academies, owing to 
failure of funds or change in the circumstances of the pro- 
prietors, and their frequent want of ability to meet the 
increasing necessities of the community, have also shown 
the public high school to be desirable. 

8. The individual or associative management of private 
academies, which may render them the most desirable to 
the few immediately connected with their management, 
so often renders them undesirable to the public at large 
that they have ceased to be generally regarded as the best 
means of supplying the educational wants of the com- 
munity. 

9. Those who have given the subject liberal and serious 
consideration, observe that it is of the utmost importance 
that people should be so related to each other that they may 
know each other well, and that the different classes may 
have an opportunity to assimilate. This is especially de- 
sirable when contact can be secured under such circum- 
stances as to give the better classes of sentiments the con- 
trolling influence. In a high school, to which pupils go 
directly from their homes for a few hours each day, the best 
culture of the community is brought, for the time being, to 
bear on that which may possibly not be so good. Yet this 
is clone without rendering direct association of the refined 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 183 

with the uncultivated a thing of necessit3^ Whatever 
untoward influences may reach these schools in the form of 
individual coarseness is under the restraint, not only of the 
teachers, but also of the better class of pupils, who have 
their individual and family character and their position in 
society to sustain, and who are seldom less refined at school 
than in their homes. Hence the history of high schools has 
never exhibited a tendency to demoralize the well bred, but 
their influence in improving the uncouth is well estab- 
lished and understood. This state of things, exhibiting an 
important gain without corresponding loss, every senti- 
ment of patriotism leads our citizens to cherish. 

10. While single private academies may be highly suc- 
cessful, it has hitherto been impossible, and in the nature of 
the case it must continue to be so, to bring them into such 
relations to each other as to secure concert of action and 
that harmony and progress in methods of instruction so de- 
sirable in a progressive age and among a people constantly 
changing their residences and even their occupations. No 
one can conceive that education could, under this system, 
become economical, thorough, and universal. These last 
two considerations show that public high schools are alone 
adopted to the genius of our republican institutions. 

11. The argument regarding the education of their chil- 
dren under their own eyes, and under such circumstances as 
to secure to them the society of their children, has, to well 
constituted parents, practically but one side. Those who 
have sent to these schools have ceased to manifest nervous 
anxiety regarding the question of caste and social rank in 
them, or regarding the influence of such associations as their 
children are likely to meet in the public high school. They 
observe that their home culture, if such culture is imparted, 
is of avail to maintain excellence under any test ever applied 
in these schools. The pupils, living at home and passing im- 
mediately from their association Avith the teacher in the 



184 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

study or class rooms to the society of their parents, are con- 
sidered far more safe than in boarding schools, where the 
hours not employed in study are spent among people who 
have little personal interest in them, and among pupils who, 
though of wealthy parentage, perhaps, are as likely to be 
vicious as any who reach the high school, if not more so. 

12. The subject of moral culture is strongly insisted on by 
the rules of all the boards of education, and is considered to 
be quite as attainable in these as in any other form of high 
school. In most places in the State no rule exists regarding 
the reading of the Bible at the opening exercises of the 
school ; nor is any such rule considered necessary, long estab- 
lished precedent permitting teachers to do as they please in 
this particular, though no comment regarding the Scripture 
lessons would be tolerated, especially if of a sectarian char- 
acter. Of moral culture, its importance and practicability, 
Mr. John Eaton, in a report printed by the Toledo board of 
education, and expressing, it is believed, the sentiment of 
that board, and substantially that of all Ohio boards of edu- 
cation, fitly remarks : 

"That teachers should neither indulge, nor the people acquiesce, in 
neglecting this department of education, is painfully manifest. There 
is hardly an issue of the daily news tliat does not contain some record 
of the corruption of public or private virtue. We cannot expect hon- 
esty or uprightness in the State if they are not inculcated in the schools. 
The fallacy that makes all moral instruction sectarian, has too long held 
sway ; the friends of man and of truth should free themselves from its 
])ower. 

" The culture of the moral nature is not more sectarian than the cul- 
ture of the intellect ; the activity of conscience, than the activity of 
memory ; nor is the law of love to God and man more sectarian than 
the law of gravity — to teach the law of right, than to teach that two 
and two make four." 

13. It is believed that the settled existence of these schools 
practically carries with it the settlement of the important 
question regarding their relation to higher institutions of 
learning. In the same communities with these schools can 



HIGH SCHOOLS. 185 

not, except in larger cities, exist other schools seeking to 
prepare pupils for the higher institutions. The practice of 
continuing pupils in these schools until their courses of 
study are finished, and then sending them to academies to 
complete a preparation for college, can not become general. 
The question of their leaving before the course is completed, 
involves the whole matter in issue. It remains for the col- 
leges of necessity to provide the means of supplementing 
any demand they may make on pupils as requisites for ad- 
mission. The interest of the colleges and of the communi- 
ties alike require that this question shall be so treated by 
the colleges as to secure as large an attendance of our youth 
as possible in these higher institutions. The special knowl- 
edge and high culture of the professors in our first-class 
institutions of learning, should be made much more largelv 
available in the cultivation of our youth. Every motive of 
patriotism and interest appeals to the true friends of higher 
education to cultivate the most affectionate relations to these 
schools, and to tax their wisdom to adapt all parts of our 
existing system of instruction to each other. The same 
generous enthusiasm which has secured the improvements 
already made, can realize all that remains to be done. 
Nothing is so much to be feared as the notion that the work 
of importance has all been accomplished. 

Indeed, in proportion as the present public high schools 
usurp the place of the earlier academies, they will feel the 
need of that intelligent direction and warm-hearted advo- 
cacy for whose influence, in the days of less enlightenment 
and more popular prejudice the true friends of education 
can never be too grateful. No doubt can exist as to the 
superiority of a public graded school system, out of which 
shall naturally grow the high school, all under such man- 
agement and systematic organization as will secure a logical 
order of sequence in classes and studies from the lowest to the 
highest grades, and that, indeed, all the intrinsic elements of 

13 



186 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

a good school can be made to subsist under these conditions 
much more certainly than in connection with the old plan. 
But it is a matter of great concern whether the State will 
ever be able to draw around its institutions that warm and 
enthusiastic individual support which nourished into life, 
against so many opposing circumstances, the higher schools 
of the earlier days. There is, just now, great danger that 
the popular ardor which originated under the glowing elo- 
quence heretofore referred to in these pages, and which car- 
ried the community forward to the adoption of the system 
which promised so much, and is capable of so much, may 
die out under the mistaken confidence that the system is 
good enough to run itself. Whenever it is forgotten that a 
correct and vigorous public sentiment is indispensable to 
success under any system of education, then laws and legis- 
lation will be powerless to secure an efficient system of 
schools. There is no strong hand in this country to enforce 
the best of systems. An earnest people alone can secure it ; 
an apathetic people, never. It is of the nature of education 
itself to create this interest and to teach its importance. It 
would be a source of great mortification and real embarrass- 
ment, if, for the want of this vitalizing influence, ou^: schools 
should lose their freshness and vigor of spirit. 



CHAPTER V. 
HIGHER EDUCATION. 

The first organized white settlement within the present 
limits of Ohio, was made in the year 17S8. Two years be- 
fore this, March I, 1786, in response to a call in the public 
prints signed by Generals Putnam and Tupper, several citi- 
zens of Massachusetts gathered at the " Bunch of Grapes 
Tavern" in Boston and after consultation organized the Ohio 
Company of Associates.* The men connected with this 
movement were, for the most part, soldiers of the Revolu- 
tion who had given long and weary years to the service of 
their country, and had found when victory and peace had 
come, the new nation bankrupt and themselves greatly im- 
poverished. 

These men had government certificates of indebtedness, 
or army warrants — but there was no money in the treasury 
with which to pay them. They were strong men, full of 
energy and hope, and they determined to invade the great 
wilderness northwest of the Ohio river, and build them new 
homes and plant a new State if the government would sell 
them land and take army warrants as payment in whole or 
in part. 

Gen. Rufus Putnam, a man of great strength and worth 
of character, who had won and retained the esteem and 
confidence of Gen. Washington during the war, was the ac- 
knowledged leader of the movement. Rev. Manasseh Cut- 
ler, LL. D., aided by the Hon. Winthrop Sargent, was the 

*The Bunch of Grapes Tavern stood on a site now occupied by the New England Bank, 
on the south side of State street and the upper or western corner of Kilby street. 



188 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

chief agent of the company in negotiating with Congress 
for the purchase of land. Hon. Nathan Dane, a personal 
friend of Mr. Cutler, and the representative in Congress of 
most of the memhers of the Company, took a deep interest 
in the matter of providing a territorial government for the 
contemplated settlement in the West. Thus originated the 
peerless Ordinance of July 13, 1787. 

The two most notable features of this ordinance were 
Article VI excluding " Slavery and involuntary servitude " 
from the western territory, and Article III asserting that, 
''Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good 
government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the 
means of education shall be forever encouraged." Thus lib- 
erty and learning were to enter the territory hand in hand. 
The clause relating to education was not accidental, it was 
inserted by those who were wise enough to comprehend the 
work they were doing for the great future. Dr. Cutler 
visited Congress and took an active interest in the subject 
of the ordinance, and at the request of the committee hav- 
ing it in charge, suggested such modifications and changes 
as seemed to him suitable to fit the instrument to be the 
charter under which the proposed colony could best plant 
itself in the West. A man of liberal culture and of com- 
prehensive views, he combined the wisdom of the states- 
man with the sagacity of the diplomatist and so impressed 
himself upon the members of Congress that he secured a 
prompt passage of the ordinance in such shape as he wished. 
It is said that within three days after Dr. Cutler's appear- 
ance before Congress the ordinance was prepared and 
passed.* By this ordinance, the Northwest was placed at 
the first, upon a vantage ground of freedom, and the States 
formed from this territory have become among the most in- 
fluential of the nation. 



=:-For a history of this ordinance and of the part taken by Manasseli Cutler in its forma- 
tion and passage, see an article in the North .\iuerican Review, April, 1876, written by 
Frederick Poole, Esq. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 189 

In the contract made by Messrs. Cutler and Sargent with 
the Board of the Treasury in October, 1787, for the purchase 
of the hxnd for the Ohio Company, it was stipulated that lot 
number sixteen of each township within the bounds of the 
purchased tract, should be set apart for the maintenance of 
public schools, and that two complete townships should be 
given perpetually for the purposes of a university. The 
devotion of section sixteen in each township of the public 
domain to school purposes had been previously made a part 
of the Government plan of disposing of its western territory, 
as appears in an act passed by Congress May 20, 1785, for 
the surve}^ of lands north of the Ohio river. 

The setting apart of a section in each township for schools, 
contemplated in 1785 and realized in 1787, became the rule 
of the government in the disposition of all territory subse 
quently surveyed and given to settlement. 

The suggestion of the division of lands into townships of 
six miles square and of devoting a part to schools, is found 
in a letter of Gen. Rufus Putnam to Gen. Washington, dated 
June 16, 1783. At that early day soldiers of the Revolution 
contemplated removing to the West, and two hundred and 
fifty officers petitioned Congress for a grant of land. 

The aggregate pecuniar}^ value of one thirty-sixth part of 
the public lands is enormous, and the proceeds of the sales 
of these school sections have been of great help to the cause 
of education, but it is believed that the fact that the educa- 
tion of the people was thus honored by the nation and made 
a matter of especial care, has been of even more value. 
Thus popular education was in the earliest days of the Re- 
public placed before the people as something of great worth. 
The States of the West have followed the example of the 
general government and by taxation contributed most gen- 
erously to the same cause. 

To Dr. Manasseh Cutler and his associates of the Ohio Com- 
pany belongs the credit of securing two townships of land for 



190 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the piiriDOse of higher education and the endowment of a 
university. This was accomplished in the contract for land 
signed October 27, 1787. These townships became the 
endowment of the Ohio University located at Athens, 
Athens County, the history of which will be given here- 
after. 

Later in the same year, 1787, Hon. John Cleves Symmes, 
a citizen of New Jersey, doubtless stimulated by the exam- 
ple of the Ohio Company, entered into negotiations with 
Congress for a tract of land lying between the two Miami 
rivers, and secured a contract which provided for the setting 
apart of one township of land for a literary institution. This 
contract was modified by an act of Congress in 1792, and by 
it 1,000,000 acres were to be sold. The patent for these lands 
was executed by President Washington, September 30, 
1794. The college township did not after all come from this 
purchase, but was subsequently given by Congress to the 
State of Ohio, in March, 1803, to be selected and loca- 
ted west of the Great Miami river. The State at once 
appointed commissioners to locate the township. TiK\y 
selected the township which is now Oxford, in Butler coun- 
ty. This was a direct grant of land by the general govern- 
ment for a university. In the case of the two townships set 
apart for a similar purpose within the limits of the Ohio 
Company's purchase, it has ever been claimed that in efiect 
the donation came from the Company and not from the 
United States. This is shown in the following extract from 
Harris's Tour published in 1803 : 

" Congress, in 1787, covenanted with the Ohio Company to give these 
lands perpetually for the purpose of a university ; therefore, that Com- 
l>any consider themselves the virtual donors, and with the utmost pro- 
priety, for this stipulation made a part of the consideration for which 
they contributed to pay a certain price for the other lands." 

From the foregoing statement it seems that universities 
were deemed important to the well being of the future State 
of Ohio by those who first planted the State. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 191 

The two institutions of learning thus early provided for 
did not go into actual operiition for several years^ 

OHIO UNIVERSITY^ 

At this institution, the first instruction was given in 
June, 1809. It continued as an academy for several years 
under the care of Principal Lindley, but grew more like a 
college until 1822, when a full faculty was organized. The 
degree of Bachelor of Arts was in some cases afterwards 
conferred upon those who had been students during this 
transition state of the institution. By the triennial cat- 
alogue, Thomas Ewing and John Hunter were the first 
graduates, having completed their course in 1815. Mr. 
Ewing afterwards greatly distinguished himself as jurist and 
statesman.* 

The first President was Rev. James Irvine, A. M. His 
successors, all able men, have been Rev. Robert G. Wilson, 
D. D., 1824-39; Rev. Wm. H. McGuflfey, LL. D., 1839-43; 
Rev. Alfred Ryors, D. D., 1848-52; Rev! Salmon Howard, 
LL. D., 1852-72; Rev. Wm. H. Scott, A. M., 1873, to the 
present time. Classes have been graduated every year since 
1815, excepting the years 1817, 1818, 1821, 1835, 1846, 1847, 
1848, and 1849. 

The whole number of graduates has been-^Bachelors of 
Arts, 255 ; Bachelors of Science, that is, those who have 
completed a partial or scientific course, 43. So far as the re- 
cords show, the ratio of graduates to freshmen is 25 percent. 
Among the graduates there have been many who have won 
for themselves honorable positions in the learned professions 
and in public life. Although it was in the hearts of Dr. 
Cutler, Gen. Putnam, and their associates to unite religion 
with learning in the university, yet there has always been 
the broadest freedom and toleration. In the earlier davs 



*G. S. B. Hempstead, M. D., an eminent physician of Portsmouth, who also received the 
degree of A. B., claims to have completed his course of study before Mr. Ewing. Dr. 
Hempstead is still living 



192 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the presidents were Presyterians, but of late they have be- 
longed to the Methodist church. President Scott in his His- 
torical Sketch of the institution says, " The university is 
not sectarian and no effort is made to inculcate the doctrine 
of any particular creed or denomination; but care is taken 
to promote sound and healthy religious sentiments. Stu- 
dents are required to be present at prayers in the chapel 
every morning, and a lecture is delivered every Sabbath 
afternoon at which attendance is required." 

The two townships of land set apart for the endowment of 
the university, are Athens and Alexander, Athens county. 
They contain something over 46,000 acres. If these town- 
ships had remained in the original forest, without a cabin 
in them or a road through them, the value of the lands to- 
day would be a munificient endowment of the university. It 
was the original purpose to secure to the institution the 
benefit of the natural and necessary rise of the lands from the 
general development and growth of the State and country, 
without regard to the special improvements made on them 
by the lessees. To secure this benefit provision was made 
for occasional re-appraisements of the lands. 

The first act of legislation establishing the university was 
passed by the Territorial legislature in January, 1802. Sec- 
tion 11 of this act vests in the board of trustees townships 
eight and nine in the fourteenth range for the "sole use, 
benefit and support of the university, with full powers to 
divide, sub-divide, settle and manage the same by leasing, 
* * * providing that no lease shall be made for a longer 
term than twenty-one years. " Section 14 exempts the col- 
lege lands and the buildings from territorial and state taxa- 
tion. 

Iij 1804, the State legislature passed a new act modifying 
in .several respects the territorial act of January, 1802. 
This .act provides for the sub-division of the lands of the 
t^yo townships, those included in the town of Athens <ex- 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 193 

cepted, by three disinterested and judicious free-holders 
under oath, appointed by the trustees. It provides that 
these free-holders "shall estimate and value the same as in 
their original unimproved state, after which the trustees 
shall proceed to make out leases of the lands * * * for 
the term of ninety years, renewable forever, on a yearly rent 
of six per centum on the amount of the valuation so made 
by the said freeholders, and the land so leased shall be sub- 
ject to a revaluation at the expiration of thirty-five years, 
and to another revaluation at the end of sixty years from the 
commencement of the term of each lease, which revaluation 
shall be conducted and made on the principles of the first, 
and the lessee shall pay a yearly rent of six per centum on 
the amount of the revaluation to be made, and forever there- 
after on a yearly rent equal to and not exceeding six per 
centum of the amount of a revaluation to be made as afore- 
said at the expiration of the term of ninety years aforesaid, 
which valuation the trustees and their successors are hereby 
authorized and directed to make." It also provides that 
" the said corporation shall have j^ower to demand a further 
yearly rent on the said lands and tenements not exceeding the 
amount of tax imposed on property of the like discription 
by the State, which rents shall be paid at such time and 
place, to such person and collected in such manner as the 
corporation shall direct." It was further provided that "the 
lands in the two townships, appraised as aforesaid, and the 
buildings which are or may be erected thereon shall for- 
ever be exempted from all State taxes. " Very fcAV if any 
leases were taken under the provisions of this law. 

On the 21st of February, 1805, the legislature passed an 
act to amend the act of 1804. Five persons Avere appointed 
appraisers of the college lands, and it was enacted that "the 
said trustees shall lease the same to persons who have or may 
apply agreeably to law, for a term of ninety-nine years, re- 
newable forever, with a fixed annual rent of six per centum 



194 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

on the appraised valuation; provided, that no lands shall be 
leased at a less valuation than at the rate of one dollar and 
seventy-five cents per acre, * * * and that so much of the 
aforesaid act, passed the 18th day of February, 1804, as is 
contrary to this act, be and hereby is repealed." 

In 1807, the clause limiting the minimum valuation to 
one dollar and seventy-five cents per acre, was also repealed. 
Under the acts of 1804 and 1805 the lands were leased. 
Some degree of uneasiness was felt by some of the lessees 
with their leases, as shown by a petition signed by Robert 
McKinstry and thirty others, addressed to the board of 
trustees of the university April, 1810. The petitioners pray- 
ed for a modification of the form of their leases, and stated 
that, at "any rate, they would pray that the following clause 
in the latter part of said leases in -their printed form might 
be totally expunged; viz, 'Together with such other sums 
as may from time to time be legally assessed on said lands,' 
and that all who now hold leases with the said clause 
therein may have liberty to surrender the same and take 
out new leases with that alteration." 

A committee of the trustees consisting of Samuel Hunt- 
ington, Jessup N. Couch, and Leonard Jewett, to whom the 
petition was referred, recommended that its prayer be 
granted. In a memorial of the lessees presented to the leg- 
islature in 1842, it is stated that this report of Judge Hunt- 
ington and others was accepted and adopted by the board of 
trustees. 

In 1826, the legislature passed an act authorizing the 
trustees to sell any lands not encumbered with leases, and 
also " to convey to any lessee of lands in said college town- 
ships the fee simple of such leasehold lands, on such lessee 
paying to the treasurer of said board such sum of money as 
will yield at an interest of six per cent, per annum, the 
sum which is yearly reserved in said lease." Under this act 
about 2,000 acres have been sold, or changed from leasehold 
to fee simple. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 195 

At the expiration of thirty-five years from the taking of 
the leases (the earlier ones), the board of trustees took meas- 
ures, as contemplated by the law of 1804, for a revaluation 
of the leased lands. At the April meeting of the board in 
1841, Col. William Medill introduced resolutions for this 
purpose, and five members were appointed to consider the 
subject and report at the next meeting in August. The re- 
port was in favor of a revaluation, and a subsequent com- 
jnittee was appointed with authority " to enter into an 
arrangement with the lessees, or any of them by which the 
question of the powers of the board may be submitted in an 
agreed case to the proper tribunals." 

Such a case was agreed upon, that of Festus McVey and 
others vs. the Ohio University, which was taken to the Supreme 
Court of Ohio in bank upon demurrer, in December, 1841. 
It was argued by Hon. John Welch for the complainants, 
and Messrs. Ewing, Stansberry, and Hunter for the defend- 
ants. Judge Hitchcock, in giving the decision, held : 

" The question which is presented to the court for consideration in 
tliis case is within a very narrow compass. It depends entirely upon 
tlie construction of the act of February, 1804, " Establishing a uni- 
versity in the town of Athens," and the act amendatory thereto, passed 
February 21, 1805. Other questions are argued by the complainants' 
counsel, but they do not properly arise in the case. Whether any pro- 
vision was made in the lease for revaluation is a matter of no conse- 
quence. The lessors refer in the lease to the law under which they 
act, as the authority conferring upon them the power to make the 
lease, and it was incumbent upon the lessee to know the extent of this 
authority. Unless the lease was in conformity with the law, it was 
one which the trustees had not power to make, and the complainants' 
title would fail. The complainants cannot avail themselves of the 
allegation of having purchased without notice, for they are bound to 
1)6 acquainted with the title under which they claim." 

Then follows a statement of the provisions of the act of 
1804 and of the amendatory act of 1805. 

" If then we can ascertain wherein the two acts differ, or wherein 
the latter is contrary to the former, we ascertain to what extent the 
former is repealed. 



196 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

By the act of 1804, the lands were to be appraised by three free- 
holders; by that of 1805, by five individuals named in the law. In 
this particular there is a difference. By the former law the land was 
to be leased for ninety j'ears renew^able forever; by the latter for 
ninety-nine years, renewable forever. Here is another difference. 

By the former law, the trustees w^ere authorized to lease all the 
lands; by the latter only such as could be appraised as high as one 
dollar and seventy-five cents per acre; and here is another difference. 

The two laws are contrary, the one to the other, in the mode of ap- 
praisal, in the duration of the lease, and in the quantity of land to be 
leased. To this extent the former was repealed. We have sought in 
vain for any other ma:tter in which they conflict. 

It may have been the intention to have repealed all that part of the 
former law which related to the valuation and leasing of the land. 
But such intention cannot be gathered by any known rule of construc- 
tion, and, of course, we are not authorized to declare that such effect 
is produced." 

The case was therefore decided in favor of the trustees 
of the University. 

On the 17th of December, 1842, the lessees of the college 
lands presented a memorial to the legislature, praying for 
relief, to which a reply of the board of trustees was pre- 
sented on the 30th of the same month. These papers were 
submitted to the standing committee on the judiciary in the 
Senate. A majority of this committee reported adversely 
to the memorial of the lessees, and a minority report in 
their favor was presented by Eben Newton. The legisla- 
ture passed the following act, entitled, 

" An act to declare the true intent and meaning of the first sec- 
tion of the act entitled an act to amend an act to establish an uni- 
versity in the town of Athens, passed February 21, A. D., 1805." 

" Sec. 1. Be it enacted bif the ffeneral Assemblij of the State of Ohio, That 
it is the true intent and meaning of the first section of the act entitled 
' An act to amend an act entitled an act establishing an university in 
ithe town of Athens passed February the twenty first, eighteen hun- 
dred and five,' that the leases granted under and by virtue of said act 
and the one to which that was an amendment, should not be subject 
ito a revaluation at any time thereafter as was provided for in the act 
to which that was an amendment." 

Since the passage of this act in 1843, there has been no 



HIGHER EDrCATION. 197 

other legislation on the subject of the revaluation of the 
lands, and the trustees have made no further efforts in this 
dii'ection. 

The history of the management of these college lands by 
the State as trustee for the iiniversity is an unfortunate one. 
When it was found that it was impossible to lease wild 
lands at a price equal to or greater than that of surround- 
ing lands, if subject to future revaluations, it would have been 
the part of wisdom to hold the lands until they had risen 
in value. But they were already largely occupied by set- 
tlers without title, or " squatters," who were anxious to 
obtain legal rights to them. This produced no little pres- 
sure both upon the trasijces of the university, and upon the 
State, the higher trustee. The trustees, furthermore, were 
anxious to realize funds in order to put the university into 
operation, and perhaps they were as unwilling to wait as 
were the people who desired the lands. In those days of 
small salaries and cheap living, the $4,000 to $5,000 to be 
obtained from the leases appeared to be a large sum. The 
action of the State was premature, and there should have 
been in the legislature enough men of wisdom and fore- 
sight to prevent the haste and consequent waste in the dis- 
posal of the lands. 

In the act of 1804, there was added to the article author- 
izing the leasing of the college lands the following clause : 

" Provided always, that the corporation shall have power to demand 
a further yearly rent on the said land and tenements not exceeding the 
amount of the tax imposed on property of like description by the 

State." 

The corporation has never availed itself of this proviso 
and collected such rent from the lessees, although asserting 
the right to do so at different times. In 1844, it asked legis- 
lative aid to enforce the collection. On March 30, 1875, 
the legislature passed a mandatory act in general form, 
requiring the trustees " to demand and collect said rents for 



198 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the support of .said institution." The act took effect July 
1, 1875. This year (1876) the trustees will doubtless 
"demand and collect" such rents, or attempt to do so. 
The lessees of the university lands petitioned the Legis- 
lature of 1875-6 to relieve them from this payment. No 
such relief was granted. 

The aggregate valuation of the university lands for taxa- 
tion is $1,060,000, while the valuation for rental is " scarcely 
$70,000." Should the university succeed in obtaining the 
amount of the state tax on the one million dollars of valua- 
tion, now paid neither to the State nor to the institution, it 
w^ill nearly double the present college revenue from the lands. 

MIAMI UNIVERSITY. 

The second institution of higher learning established in 
the State was the Miami University, at Oxford, Butler 
county, the origin of which has already been referred to 
The township of land granted to the university by the Uni- 
ted States was located and registered in 1803. The legisla- 
ture passed an act to establish the university February 17, 
1809, and the first meeting of the board of trustees was held 
on the 7th of June, in the same year. The university, 
however, Avas not opened until November, 1824. There are 
eighteen trustees chosen by the legislature to serve for nine 
years. The first president was Rev. R. H. Bishop, D. D., 
who held the office from 1824 to 1841. His successors were 
Rev. George Junkin, D. D. (1841-4), Rev. E. D. McMaster 
(1845-9), Rev. W. C. Anderson, D. D. (1849-54), Rev. J. W. Hall, 
D. D. (1854-66), Rev. Robert L. Stanton, D. D. (1866-71). He 
was succeeded by President Hepburn, who remained only a 
short time. These were all learned and able men. Since 
1872 the institution has been closed, but it will be reopened 
whenever its financial condition will warrant it. 

The history of this university is one of much interest. 
Few institutions have done better work or sent forth so large 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 199 

a proportion of graduates Avho have become eminent in the 
various walks of life, but there has been a long struggle with 
financial embarrassment. 

The legislation of the State deprived it of the revenues it 
ought to reap from its endowment, as Avill be seen hereafter 
when the history of the State control of the university is pre- 
sented. So important were the tuition fees, to make up for 
want of larger endowment, that in many of the catalogues we 
find the following notificatioji : " Tuition and room rent must 
invariably be paid in advance, and no deduction or draw- 
back is allowed, and if not paid by the student it is charged 
to the facult}", who are made responsible to the board for it" — 
the latter clause sometimes ^^rinted in italics and sometimes 
in capitals. It is to be hoped that few colleges have ever 
been compelled to make a similar demand upon a poorly 
paid faculty. 

The whole number of graduates from 1824 to 1872 inclu- 
sive, is 966. Of the 699 graduates from the beginning to the 
year 1860 inclusive, 198 became clergymen and 187 lawyers, 
being in each case nearly 27 per cent. The graduates, in 
unusually large numbers, have reached positions of distinc- 
tion as governors, senators, congressmen, cabinet officers, 
foreign ministers, professors in theological, literary, and 
medical institutions, editors, teachers, business men, etc. 
It is doubtful whether any college in the land can show a 
relatively greater proportion of distinguished graduates. In 
the triennial catalogue of 1867, there is a roll of honor giv- 
ing the names of 233 students who were connected with the 
army or navy in the service of the United States during the 
late civil war. These were not all graduates, but all had 
been students. On this roll are three distinguished " war 
Governors " — Richard Yates, Governor of Illinois, who was 
connected with the institution, but afterwards graduated at 
Jacksonville College, Illinois; William Dennison, a graduate 
of the class of 1835, Governor of Ohio in the first year of the 



•200 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

war, and Oliver P. Morton, Governor of Indiana, who was a 
student in 1843. Hon. Chas. Anderson, a graduate of 1833, 
Colonel of the 93d Ohio Regiment, was elected Lieutenant 
Governor and became Governor after the death of Governor 
John Brough, in 1865. There were thirt3^-five field officers 
from the grade of major to major general, nineteen surgeons 
and assistant surgeons, and seven chaplains. Professor R. 
W. McFarland left his chair of mathematics and served dur- 
ing the war as Lieutenant Colonel of the 86th Ohio Regi- 
ment, and afterwards returned to his professorial duties. 
Among the captains, we find the name of Whitelaw Reid, 
the successor of Horace Greeley as editor of the " New York 
Tribune." Probably more than twenty graduates have be- 
come presidents or professors of colleges.. 

The catalogue contains the following information relative 
to religious instruction and worship : 

" Instruction in religion and morality, is, according to the charter, 
among the objects for which the university was established. For this 
provision is made. Bible classes are instructed by the Faculty every 
Sabbath morning. * * * The students are required to attend daily 
worship in the chapel and also on the Sabbath a public religious ser- 
vice in some one of the churches of the town." 

The endowment of the university was a township of land. 
On the 17th of February, 1809, an act was passed author- 
izing the trustees to "divide, sub-divide and expose the 
same to sale in tracts of not less than 80 nor more than 160 
acres and for the terms of 99 years and renewable forever, 
subject to a revaluation every 15 years, always considering 
the land in an unimproved state for the purpose of valuation, 
and provided that the land shall be offered at auction at not 
less than $2 per acre, and the tenants or lessees shall pay 6 
per cent, per annum on the amount of their purchase." 

On the 6th of January, 1810, or less than one year after, 
the next legislature passed an act to amend the foregoing act 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 201 

declarino; " That so much of the 10th section of said act as 
requires a revaluation of said lands ever}^ fifteen years, is 
hereby repealed, together with so much of said act as comes 
within the purview of this act." 

By an examination of the records it appears that a large 
number of the members of the legislalture which passed the 
first act, belonged to the succeeding one which repealed it. 
The Senate was composed of the same persons in both years, 
with only a change of two members, and in the House 
twenty members out of forty-nine were the same men. The 
Senator and the three members of the House from Butler 
county in which Oxford is located, were the same indivi- 
duals in both legislatures. The only explanation, attain- 
able, of this legislation so self-contradictory and in the end 
so disastrous to the university, lies in the fact that during 
the year 1809 very few if any leases were taken, on account 
of the revaluation clause. But there was no pressing need 
to dispose at once of the lands. The university did not need 
the money, for it did not go into operation until November, 
1824, or fourteen years after the passage of the law of 1810. 

The university now receives from its lands — farming 
lands and village lots, |5,600 per annum. 

It is not to be wondered at that the alumni and friends of 
the university, however rich as individuals they may be, 
should be unwilling to add to the endowment of an institu- 
tion under the control of a State which has shown so little 
wisdom in the management of its great trust. It should be 
stated however, that in 1867 nearly $30,000 were contributed 
chiefly by the trustees, for a new college building and for 
general improvements. The buildings are now in good 
order. They are finely situated in a beautiful and Avell 
kept campus of one hundred acres. 



14 



202 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 



OHIO AGEICULTUEAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE. 

On the 2nd of July, 1862, the Congress of the United 
States passed "an act donating lands to the several States 
and Territories, which may provide colleges for the benefit 
of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts." By this act, the 
quantity of land to be given to each State was proportioned 
to the number of its congressional members, 30,000 acres to 
each member. The proportion offered to /Ohio was 630,000 
acres. There being only eighty acres of public land in Ohio 
" subject to sale at private entry at one dollar and twenty- 
five cents per acre," land scrip for 629,920 acres was to be 
issued by the Secretary of the Interior and placed in the 
treasury of the State. The assignees of this scrip might 
locate the same "upon any of the unappropriated lands of 
the United States subject to sale at private entry at one dol- 
lar and twenty-five cents per acre." The act providing that 
the proceeds of the sale of these lands shall be safely invest- 
ed, and the interest " shall be inviolably appropriated by 
each state which may take and claim the benefit of this act, 
to the endowment, support and maintenance of at least one 
college, where the leading object shall be, without excluding 
other scientific and classical studies, and including military 
tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to 
Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, in such a manner as the 
legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe in order 
to promote the liberal and practical education of the indus- 
trial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life." 

At a special meeting of the State Board of Agriculture 
called by Gov. Tod in December, 1862, that board recom- 
mended the "acceptance of the grant, under the provisions 
of said act, by the legislature of the State and the early 
establishment of the college contemplated." In January, 
1864, the same board presented to the General Assembly a 
memorial, entitled a " Memorial of the Ohio State Board of 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 203 

Agriculture in favor of accepting the lands granted by Con- 
gress in aid of instruction in Agriculture and the Mechanic 
Arts, and in favor of the speedy establishment of an agricul- 
tural college." 

On the 9th of February, 1864, the legislature accepted the 
congressional grant in the following formal enactment : 

" Be it enacted bt/ the General Assembly of the State of Ohio., That the 
assent of the said state is hereby signified to the aforesaid act of Con- 
gress and to all the conditions and provisions therein contained, and 
tlie faith of the State of Ohio is hereby pledged to the performance of 
all such conditions and provisions. " 

On the 1.5th of March, 1865, the State Board of Agricul- 
ture passed a resolution recommending to the legislature to 
provide for the sale of the land scrip, " at a price not less 
than eighty cents per acre, " and to appoint *' a commission 
to receive propositions for acquiring an experimental farm. " 
It was also resolved "that we, as the representatives of the 
agricultural and mechanical interests of the State, do earn- 
estly protest against any division of the fund arising from 
said grant. " 

On the 13th of April, 1865, the General Assembly passed 
an act for the sale of the land scrip " at a rate of not less 
than eighty cents per acre, " and for the appointment by the 
Governor of five commissioners who shall report a suitable 
location for the college or colleges, and such propositions and 
inducements as may be offered for the establishment of more 
than one such college. The commission was also to present 
a detailed plan for the organization of said college or col- 
leges. This commission reported in favor of dividing the 
proceeds of the lands, giving one half to Miami University 
reorganized, and the other half for the endowment of a col- 
lege to be located in the northern part of the State. A 
minority report designated College Hill, near Cincinnati, as 
a desirable location. 

In March, 1868, a joint committee, composed of four mem- 
bers of the Senate and eight from the House, was appointed 



204 KDUCATION IN OHIO. 

to make investigation, receive propositions, designate a loca- 
tion of the college, and report to the legislature. In 1869, 
this committee reported in favor of Urbana, Champaign 
county, as the most desirable location. A minority report 
recommended Wooster, Wayne county. 

On the 22d of March, 1870, the General Assembly passed 
" An act to establish and maintain an Agricultural and 
Mechanical College in Ohio. " This act provided for the ap- 
pointment of a board of trustees — one from each congres- 
sional district — the appointment to be made by the Gover- 
nor. The president of the State Board of Agriculture Avas to 
be a member ex-officio. This board was authorized to locate 
the college upon lands — not less than one hundred acres — 
the same to be reasonably central. They were to judge of 
the relative merits of the various propositions and induce- 
ments presented by counties, towns, or individuals for such 
location, and to organize the college and elect its president 
and professors. 

In order to secure full competition and generous offers for 
the location of the college, the General Assembly on the 18th 
of April, 1'87<0, passed an act authorizing the several coun- 
ties of the State to raise money to secure such location. On 
the 11th of May, 1870, the board of trustees met for the first 
time, and was organized by the election of Hon. V. B. Hor- 
ton. President, R. C. Anderson, Secretary, and Joseph Sulli- 
vant. Treasurer. On the 13th of October the board made a 
final location of the college on the Neil farm in the suburbs 
of Columbus, three hundred thousand dollars having been 
voted by the county of Franklin as an inducement. 

The location, in the fertility and beauty of the lands, is 
an admirable one. The farm of 320 acres was bought, a 
large and handsome college building and two dormitories 
were built, and the laboratories equipped with apparatus, all 
from the Franklin county donation. The land, now within 
the corporate limits of Columbus, is rising rapidly in value. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 205 

Under the act of April 13, 1865, to " provide for the sale of 
the land scrij)," which fixed the price of the lands at 80 
cents per acre, comparatively little land was sold. Other 
States offered for sale similar lands, and the market was over- 
stocked. It was the strong desire of many who had watched 
carefully the progress of the West, and marked the inevit- 
able rise of lands in value, that the lands should be carefully 
and promptly located. Parties were Avilling to take all the 
land scrip at eighty cents per acre, if a comparatively short 
time could be given on payments, no title to pass until full 
payment was made. They wished to locate the lands at once, 
and had already investigated the more desirable districts for 
such location — districts in which lands have since risen very 
greatly in value. If such purchasers had failed in their 
payments, the lands would have remained for future sale by 
the State — a fortunate thing, since every year of delay in 
the sale of well located lands added many thousands of dol- 
lars to their value. But the land-scrip commissioners, con- 
sisting of the Auditor, Treasurer, and Secretary of State, 
felt constrained to reject such offers, the law, in their opinion, 
not making provision for other than sales for cash. This 
was in the latter part of 1865. Few sales were made. On 
the 5th of April, 1866, the General Assembly passed an act 
to amend the act of April 13, 1865, by which the whole mat- 
ter of sale was left to the discretion of the commissioners, 
only they were to make prompt and vigorous efforts to effect 
sales. T,hey were " authorized to sell or cause to be sold said 
land scrip at the best price they can obtain for the same, 
and to employ a suitable person or persons to aid them in 
making such sales, and to pay such persons such commis- 
sions on sales made by them as they may deem adequate to 
secure prompt and vigorous efforts to effect sales." They 
were authorized to sell scrip of not less amount than for 
50,000 acres on four equal payments, the fourth to be due at 
the end of six years, and scrip for not less than 10,000 acres, 
with three years time on the last payment. 



206 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

In obedience to the letter and spirit of this law, the lands 
were promptly sold during the year. Five hundred and 
seventy-five thousand five hundred and sixty acres were 
sold for fifty-three cents an acre, of which 400,000 were sold 
to one man, and 125,760 to another. The total proceeds of 
sales, independent of interest, was $340,906.80. The House 
of Representatives, in January or February, 1868, passed 
the following resolution of inquiry : " Resolved^ That the 
land-scrip commissioners of this State be and they are 
hereby requested to inform this house at as early day as 
practicable, why the land scrip belonging to this State was 
sold, part of it on time, for less than fifty-three cents an 
acre, while the government of the United States was selling 
lands at one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre ; also, to 
report the date of each sale, the name of each purchaser, 
the terms of each sale," etc. The commissioners resix)nded 
to this resolution of inquiry, denying that any scrip had 
been sold for less than fifty-three cents, and defending them- 
selves from reproach for selling the scrip at the low prices 
obtained, by quoting the law requiring " prompt and vigor- 
ous efforts " to make sales, etc. 

We have in this unfortunate history the third case of the 
disposition by the State, of lands granted to it by the general 
government for the support of colleges. For the Ohio Uni- 
versity at Athens there was a grant of two townships, for 
Miami University one township, and for the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College 630,000 acres. To the latter have since 
been added the unsold lands in the Virginia Military Dis- 
trict. These college lands are more in the aggregate than 
all the lands given to the State for common schools. How 
wisely or unwisely the school lands have been managed by 
the State we may learn from the chapter in this volume de- 
voted to School Legislation. Fortunately, many of the 
school lands remained in the possession of the State until 
they had risen somewhat in value before they were sold. 



I 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 207 

Some indeed, are yet unsold and pay a rental to the State. 
The annual income from these lands from interest and 
rents is from $230,000 to $240,000, while that from a larger 
quantity of land given for colleges is only about $40,000. 
The larger part of these lands — the 630,000 acres, were 
pressed to sale upon a market temporarily overstocked. 

There was doubtless much pressure brought upon the 
legislature to sell the lands. So far as the records show, it was 
of an open and honorable character. Many of the leading 
agriculturists of the State expressing themselves through 
the State Board of Agriculture, and in other ways, urged 
from the first a " speedy sale " of the lands. As we have 
seen, this board first recommended to the legislature to fix 
the minimum price at 80 cents an acre, which recommenda- 
tion was acted upon. This price not being readily obtained > 
the General Assembly ordered the sale of the scrip at the 
best price to be obtained. This secured the desired sale and 
brought to the treasury for the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College a little over $340,000 for 630,000 acres. A state lives 
on through centuries, and so does a university. Each could 
afford to wait a few years to realize the millions which were 
sure to come from the munificent grant of the national 
government. Nor was the land perishable property needing 
to be sold at once. 

The proceeds of the sale of the scrip were placed in the 
treasury of the State, the interest being compounded semi- 
annually. Dr. Henry S. Babbitt, treasurer of the college, 
reported the " principal derived from the proceeds of the 
sales of the land scrip and the accumulations thereto up to 
January 1, 1874, $470,307.28." To this are added other 
funds derived from other sources, making the whole avail- 
able fund "something over $500,000, the annual income from 
which slightly exceeds $30,000." The total value of the 
endowment and property of the college exceeds $1,000,000. 

Congress having given to the State of Ohio all unsold land 



208 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

in the Virginia Military District between the Scioto and 
Little Miami rivers, the proceeds of the sales of these lands 
were given to the college by an iact of the General Assembly 
passed March 26, 1872. Something has already been real- 
ized from this source. 

The college was opened for instruction in September, 1873. 
Edward Orton, A. M., was chosen President, and there are 
now seven professors, two assistant professors, and one in- 
structor. President Orton at the time of his appointment 
was President of Antioch College and also one of the assist- 
ants on the geological survey of the State. He has had 
much experience as an instructor. 

The following departments of instruction are enumerated 
in the Catalogue for 1874-5 : 

"Physics; Chemistry; Zoology; Botany; Geology; Agriculture; 
Mathematics; English, French and German Languages; Latin and 
Greek Languages; Political Economy and Civil Polity,; Mechanical 
and Free-hand Drawing." 

The objects of the college, briefly stated, are, 

" 1st. To furnish a general education by wliich the youth of Ohio 
shall be fitted for the several pursuits and professions in life. The 
sciences that bear on practical life are to be made especially prominent 
in this education, and for such branches the college is bound to make 
ample provision, but no departments of study that enter into a well 
balanced scheme of general training, are to be purposely excluded 
from it. 

2d. To provide opportunity for those who wish to pursue special 
studies." 

Tuition is free but charges are made for room rent and 
incidental expenses. Young ladies are admitted on equal 
terms with young men. 

The college is too young to have graduates in any of its 
courses. It is in its various laboratories, chemical, physi- 
cal, and zoological, well equipped. The geological cabinet 
contains the collections made in connection with the recent 
geological survey of Ohio. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 209 

By an act of the General Assembly passed April 16, 1874, 
the number of trustees was reduced to five, and new ap- 
pointments were made by the Governor and confirmed by 
the Senate. The term of office is five years, one member 
retiring each year. The following persons were aj^pointed ; 
Alexander Waddle, Warren P. Noble, William Larwill, 
Ralph Leete, and Joseph SuUivant. Mr. Leete is the presi- 
dent of the board, and Joseph Sullivant, secretary. Mr. 
SuUivant, in addition to the usual duties of secretary, has 
charge of the buildings and grounds, audits and allows all 
necessary accounts, etc., for which he receives an annual 
salary of $2,000. Dr. Henry S. Babbitt has been the treas- 
urer of the college from the first. 

The whole number of students on the Catalogue of 1874-5 
is 66. They are not grouped into classes. Of the 66, a little 
more than one-half (36) are from Columbus. In the " Fifth 
Annual Report of the Board of Trustees to the Governor,''^ Presi- 
dent Orton in a report to the trustees dated November 15, 
1875, states that the whole number in attendance is 99 
and of this number 58 are from Franklin county, chiefly 
from the city of Columbus. The President states that, " the 
conditions of admission to the college remain unchanged. 
Entrance examinations are made in arithmetic, geography, 
English grammar, and elementary algebra." Prof. Menden- 
hall in the Department of Physics and Mechanics reports 
88 students, the great majority of whom are in the elemen- 
tary course. Eight are working in the Physical Laboratory. 
Prof. Norton, in the Chemical Department, reports six stu- 
dents in analytical chemistry. In the Department of Latin 
and Greek, Prof. Wright reports : 

Students in Latin of the fivst year class 8 

Students in Latin of the second vear class 3 

—11 
Students in Greek of the first year class 4 

Students in Greek of the second vear class 2 

— 6 



210 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Prof. Tuttle, in the department of Zoology, reports 30 
registered in the class of elementary physiology and 6 in 
the advanced course of zoology. Prof. Colvin, in the de- 
partment of Political Economy, Civil Polity, and Accounts, 
reports 15 students in political economy and civil polity, 
and 35 in the study of accounts. No detailed reports of the 
number of students in the other departments is given. 
There are no public religious exercises of any kind in the 
institution. 

KENYON COLLEGE, 

On January 24, 1826, the General Assembly of Ohio au- 
thorized the faculty of the Theological Seminary of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Ohio, which 
had been chartered December 29, 1824, to add a college de- 
partment and confer degrees in arts and sciences, under the 
name and style of the President and Professors of Kenyon 
College in the State of Ohio. In 1839, the General Assembly 
authorized a separate faculty for the college, and from that 
time the two faculties have been distinct. 

The first President was the Right Rev. Philander Chase, 
Bishop of Ohio. This gentleman resigned the presidency 
and episcopate in 1831, and was succeeded by the Right Rev. 
Charles P. Mcllvaine. Bishop Chase afterwards removed to 
Illinois, where he was chosen Bishop in 1835. Bishop Mc- 
llvaine was president of the college from 1831 to 1840. His 
successors have been Maj. D. B. Douglass, LL. D. (1840-44), 
Rev. S. A. Bronson, D. D. (1845-50), Rev. Thomas M. Smith, 
D. D. (1850-53), Lorin Andrews, LL. D. (1854-61), Charles 
Short, LL. D. (1863-67), Rev. James Kent Stone, A. M. 
(1867-68), and Eli T. Tappan, LL. D. (1868-75). 

The history of the college presents many features of much 
interest. Bishop Chase first sought to establish a theological 
seminary. In 1817, he left his parish in Hartford, Conn., 
and came to Ohio, where the next year he was elected Bishop 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 211 

and was consecrated as such in Philadelphia February 11, 
1819. His diocese included the whole State of Ohio, but he 
had only two or three clergymen as co-laborers in the vast 
field. To secure an educated ministry for the West he deter- 
mined to establish a theological seminary, and to obtain 
funds he visited England in 1823. He was well received 
and found friends and contributors in Lords Gambler, Ken- 
yon, and Bexley, Sir Thomas Ackland, the Right Hon. 
Dowager Countess of Rosse, Mrs. Hannah Moore, and others. 
He returned with gifts amounting to $30,000, and the Gen- 
eral Assembly of Ohio granted a charter to him and his 
associates for a seminary December 29, 1824. The seminary 
was first located on the Bishop's farm in Worthington, Frank- 
lin county, but subsequently 8,000 acres of wild land were 
purchased in Knox county, for $18,000, to be the permanent 
site of seminary and college. 

The town where the institutions were located was called 
Gambler after Lord Gambler, and the college was named 
Kenyon after Lord Kenyon. The building afterwards 
erected for the use of the theological seminary was called 
Bexley Hall after Lord Bexley. Rosse Hall is named after 
the Countess of Rosse. Inl827 Bishop Chase obtained $25,- 
000 in the eastern States. In the meantime the college 
had opened well, students were present in considerable 
numbers and were well instructed by an able faculty. But 
there were financial troubles. Eight thousand acres of wild 
land brought little or no income. Expensive buildings 
w^ere to be erected and a faculty supported. In 1831, 
Bishop Chase brought the difficulties before the diocesan 
convention of the State, but the action of the convention 
was not satisfactory to him and he " peremptorily resigned 
both the presidency of the seminary and college and the 
episcopate of the diocese, and forever severed his connection 
with the institutions which he had so ardently and faith- 
fully labored to establish." 



212 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The Bishop was a man of great executive energy and of 
undaunted will. His plans were noble and comprehensive' 
but the difficulties in his pathway were very great. Bishop 
Mcllvaine succeeded Bishop Chase to the presidency of the 
college. Bishop Mcllvaine was a remarkable man, full of 
gifts and graces. If less intense and imperative than Bishop 
Chase, he had more tact and discernment of men. His first 
work for the college, after thoroughly surveying the ground, 
Avas to go to his eastern friends and obtain funds. In 1833, 
he brought to the rescue of the college $30,000. This saved 
the institution. In 1835, he visited England chiefly, for rest 
and health, and brought back $12,600 for the erection of a 
l)uilding for the theological department. He also received 
valuable gifts of books for the library. 

In 1841, he resigned his position as president of the col- 
lege, and thenceforward the faculty of the college became 
distinct from that of the seminary, although both were 
under the control of the same board of trustees. In 1842, 
Bishop Mcllvaine visited the Eastern States and obtained 
$29,517, which, with $6,000 raised in Ohio, brought tempor- 
ary relief. In 1850, a portion of the lands which had 
hitherto been a great burden and expense to the trustees, 
was sold. All the debts were paid and a "bright day 
dawned on Kenyon." Not long after this, (in 1854) Lorin 
Andrews, LL. D., who for many years had been favorably 
known in Ohio in connection with popular education, was 
elected to the presidency of the college. He was an excel- 
lent president. His personal magnetism drew and retained 
students, and his fine executive capacity caused the affairs 
of the college to move on regularly and smoothly. President 
Andrews on hearing of the fall of Fort Sumter almost 
instantly offered his services for the suppression of the 
Rebellion. He was made the Colonel of the 4th Regiment, 
Ohio Infantry, and at once entered upon active military 
service among the mountains of West Virginia. In the 



* HIGHER EDUCATION. 213 

early autumn of September, 1861, he died of fever contracted 
in the camp. He was a rare man, full of all noble impulses 
and deeds. 

Bishop G. T. Bedell, the associate and successor of Bishop 
Mcllvaine, although never president of Kenyon, has proved 
to be one of its foremost friends and benefactors. By his 
efforts he has very largely increased the endowment. In 
1866 he recounts "the recent subscriptions to the college as 
amounting to $140,000, of which over $100,000 have been 
j)aid. " 

The present estimated value of the kinds, buildings, libra- 
ries, apparatus, and endowments at Gambier, including 
seminary and college, is about half a million of dollars. The 
financial history of Kenyon is essentially like that of many 
other western institutions. Few have any distinct concej)- 
tion of the wearying labors and of the many discourage- 
ments which are the portion of those Avho Avould found a 
college. We are reminded of the familiar words of Virgil: 
" Tantse molis erat Romanam condere gent em. " 

The presidents since President Andrews have already 
been named. President Tajipan, the last incumbent, a suc- 
cessful professor of mathematics in the Ohio University for 
several years before his apj)ointment to the presidency of 
Kenj^on, has recently resigned the president's chair and^ 
taken charge of the mathematical department to which 
he is drawn by his tastes and for Avhich he has peculiar 
fitness. 

Kenyon College has always done good literary work, and 
has sent forth many graduates who have given an excellent 
account of themselves in professional and public life. Hon. 
Edwin M. Stanton who has had few peers in history as a 
war minister, received his education at Kenyon. Hon. R. 
B. Hayes, the thrice chosen governor of Ohio, was a grad- 
uate of the class of 1842. Hon. David Davis, of the Sui^reme 
Court of the United States, and Hon. Henry Winter Davis 
were also graduates. 



214 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Theije is at Kenyon as at nearly every other college in 
Ohio, a preparatory department. Attendance in the college 
chapel at daily prayer is obligator}^ on all the students. 

Since 1873 the board of trustees has been constituted as 
follows : The Bishops of the two dioceses of Ohio and the 
assistant Bishop, if there be one of the diocese which 
includes Gambler; the President of Kenyon college; four 
clergical and four lay trustees whose successors shall be 
chosen by the board of trustees for terms of ten years ; three 
clerical and three lay trustees whose successors shall be 
elected by the diocesan convention for terms of three years ; 
and two clerical and two lay trustees to be chosen by the 
alumni, who shall hold office for four years. 

The aggregate number of volumes in all the libraries of 
the seminary and college is about 19,000. The whole num- 
ber of graduates up to 1872, is 452. 

WESTERN RESERVE COLLEGE. 

By its original colonial charter, Connecticut had a claim 
to lands lying west of Pennsylvania. These lands were 
ceded to the United States, except a strip lying contiguous 
to the Pennsylvania line, 40 leagues in length. This tract 
became known as the Connecticut Western Reserve and 
Vv-as often popularly termed New Connecticut. Connecticut 
afterwards sold this land for $1,200,000, and the proceeds of 
the sale were set apart as a school fund. Naturall}^, Connec- 
ticut people settled in New Connecticut. They brought 
y^'ith them notions, material and immaterial, and among the 
latter were two, faith in God and faith in themselves. ^'Qui 
transtulit sustinet, " the motto of the Connecticut coat of 
arms, represented their religious faith. They brought with 
them educated ministers and teachers, and with stout hearts 
entered upon the work of subduing the forest and creating 
themselves homes. 



r 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 215 

As early as 1801, an unsuccessful attempt was made to 
obtain a charter for a college from the Territorial Legisla- 
ture. In 1803, a renewed attempt succeeded. The Territory- 
had meanwhile become a State, and its legislature granted 
to the " Erie Literar}'- Society " college powers. An academy 
was opened at Burton, designed to be the germ of a college. 
Afterwards the presbyteries of Grand River, Portage, and 
Huron, which included the congregational element under 
the "Plan of Union," appointed commissioners to select 
another location and Hudson was chosen and a new charter 
obtained, February 7, 1826. It was to be an independent 
college free from ecclesiastical control, the charter making 
the board of trustees a close corporation with power to fill 
vacancies. 

The design of this college is thus well stated by the author 
of the Historical Sketch furnished the Centennial Educa- 
tional Committee : "The objects proposed by the founders 
were to educate pious young men as pastors for our desti- 
tute churches, to preserve the present literary and religious 
character of the State and redeem it from future decline, 
and to prepare competent men to fill the cabinet, the bench, 
the bar and the pulpit. The clerical portion of the found- 
ers were most of them graduates of Yale College, and the 
others of Williams and Dartmouth. The lay portion were 
from Connecticut, having been reared under the shadow of 
the influence of Yale College. Those famous colleges of New 
England were therefore their models, the objects they 
achieved were the ends sought for here by the same means." 
The college was opened in 1826, and a freshman class 
formed. The institution was to be in character and methods 
a copy of Yale, and so thorough and genuine has been the 
instruction afforded that no one can say that there has been 
any blur in the copying. 

The first president was the Rev. Charles Backus Storrs, of 
a Massachusetts family that has won for two generations 



216 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ministerial honors. He had for several years been pastor of 
the church at Ravenna, and was a man of marked ability as 
a preacher. He became persident in 18B0. He had lived 
and preached in the South and, perhaps as a result of 
personal observations there, became a strong foe of slavery 
and his speeches against it were characterized by great 
boldness and vigor. He died in 1833 at the age of 39 years 
having occupied the chair of president only three years. 

He was succeeded by Rev. Geo. E. Pierce, D. D., a native 
of Connecticut and a graduate of Yale, who was president 
of the college from 1834 to 1855. He devoted himself to the 
work of building up the college, and Avas untiring in his 
labors. His selections of a faculty were the wisest and no 
college, east or west, could boast of professors of finer culture 
and ability. It was the trying problem assigned to Presi- 
dent Pierce, one which needed to be solved anew every year, 
how to support this large number of able men. It is to be 
feared that the meager support they received would lead to 
the belief that the problem was never more than half solved. 
It was the old struggle through which Harvard, Yale and 
Amherst and all our best American colleges have in their 
time passed. 

Rev. Henry L. Hitchcock, D. D. succeeded to the presi- 
dency in 1855. A native of the Reserve, a son of one of the 
most eminent judges of the State, a graduate of Yale, for 
many years an honored pastor of a leading church in the 
capitol of the State, for many years a trustee of Marietta 
College — -a profitable experience to him — a wise and good 
man, he brought to the presidential chair unusual adapta- 
tions to the place and the hour. In a few years he removed 
all financial embarrassments and added one hundred and 
seventy-five thousand dollars to the permanent funds of the 
college. In 1871, he resigned his office, but served the col- 
lege as professor until his death in 1873. A true college is 
a tree of centuries. It is believed that Western Reserve, 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 217 

thanks to the labors and gifts of its many devoted friends, is 
now rooted for the ages. President Hitchcock has been 
worthily succeeded by Rev. Carrol Cutler, D. D. 

The founders of the college had in view a theological de- 
partment and a professor of theology was appointed as early 
as 1828, and other professors soon after. This department 
was continued until 1852, when it was given up. The pro- 
fessors were unusually able men and afterwards filled high 
positions in eastern theological seminaries and colleges. In 

1844, a medical department was established, located at Cleve- 
land. It is well equipped with buildings, library, museums, 
etc., and has a faculty of eminent physicians and scientific 
men. It has granted the degree of Doctor of Medicine to^ 
1,250 young men. 

There is attached to the college at Hudson a preparatory 
department in which young men are thoroughly fitted to 
enter the college classes. 

The college has libraries containing an aggregate of 
12,200 volumes, a good working laboratory and a good cabi- 
net of minerals, and fossils. 

The number of graduates is 404. From an examination 
of the table of statistics it appears that of all who have en- 
tered the freshmen class 50 per cent, have graduated. This 
is a large proportion. 

DENISON UNIVERSITY. 

This university is located at Granville, a pleasant village 
in Licking county. It was first incorporated by a charter 
granted by the General Assembly, December 13, 1832, as 
the Granville Literary and Theological Institution. In 

1845, the name was changed to Granville College, which in 
June 25, 1856, was again changed to Denison LTniversity, to 
commemorate a donation from Wm. Denison, of Adams- 
ville, Ohio. At a meeting of the Ohio Baptist Education 

15 



218 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Society, at Lebanon, May 1830, it was resolved to under- 
take the establishment of a college, and the institution re- 
sulted from the action of this society. For several years 
there was a theological department in the interest of the 
Baptist denomination, but it was given up, and of late j^ears 
the only departments have been the collegiate and the pre- 
paratory. There have been several modifications of the 
board of trustees. In 1873, the board was reorganized under 
a general law of the State affecting the incorporation of col- 
leges, from which time the university was " to be managed 
and controlled by thirty-six trustees, to be chosen exclusive- 
ly from members in good standing and full membership in 
regular Baptist churches in the State of Ohio, who shall hold 
their office only so long as they retain such membership ; 
five at least to be resident freeholders of Licking county." 
The board is a close corporation, with power to fill vacancies. 

The university, though under the control of the Baptist 
denomination, claims to be unsectarian and to teach no 
denominational dogmas. 

The first president of the university was Rev. John Pratt, 
a graduate of Brown University in 1827. For six years from 
1831, he occupied the post of president, and afterwards, for 
twentyrtwo years, held the chair of Ancient Languages. A 
man of careful and exact scholarship, he gave to the college 
a character for thoroughness which it yet retains. He is 
still (1876) living. The name of Prof. Pascal Carter, long 
associated with Prof. Pratt, deserves hqijorable mention for 
thorough scholarship. Pres. Pratt was succeeded by Rev. 
Jonathan Going, D. D., a graduate of Brown University in 
1809, who held the office from 1837 to 1844. These were the 
years of the greatest prosperity of the theological depart- 
ment, and to this department Dr. Going devoted his time 
and energies, while the college proper Avas under the super- 
vision of Prof. John Stevens, D. D. Prof. Stevens, a graduate 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 219 

of Micldlebury College in 1821, has been a pillar of strength 
to the university as well as to the denomination in the State. 
His professorial life is almost co-extensive with that of the 
institution. He is now professor emeritus and resides at the 
university. 

Rev. Silas Bailey, D. D., LL. D., a graduate of Brown Uni- 
versity in 1834, held the office of president from 184G to 1852. 
He was succeeded by Rev. .Jeremiah Hall, D. D., who was 
president from 1853 to 1863. Dr. Hall camt3 to the college 
at a critical time, when funds were low and friends were 
divided in counsel. He secured harmony and greatly con- 
tributed to the welfare of the college. 

His successor was Rev. Sampson Talbot, D. D., a graduate 
of the university in 1851, who held the office from 1863 to 
his death in 1873. He was loved and honored, and the value 
of his labors for the college in advancing its financial and 
literary interests can hardly be over-estimated. His sue. 
cessor. Rev. E. Benjamin Andrews, entered upon the duties 
of his office the present year (1876). 

The whole number of volumes in the college and society 
libraries is a little over 11,000. The cabinet contains collec- 
tions illustrating mineralogy, geology, conchology, zoology, 
and archjieology. 

The whole number of graduates in the classical course is 
176. Besides these, twenty have taken what is called the 
scientific course, which includes a year and a half of Latin, 
one year of French, and eighteen weeks of German. It re- 
tains the mathematics and the scientific instruction of the 
college course with some modifications. It requires three 
years for its completion. 

The table of statistics shows that the ratio of graduates to 
the number of freshmen is something like 25 per cent. 



220 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 



OBERLIN COLLEGE. 

This college was located at Oberlin, Lorain county, in 
1833, and received its charter under the name of the Oberlin 
Collegiate Institute, February 28th, 1834. The name was 
changed to Oberlin College in 1850. It was in its inception 
to be an institution of distinct type. Moral and religious 
elements, combined with a zealous spirit of reform, were to 
be united with intellectual training. The plan was first 
suggested by Rev. .John Shipherd, one of the first trustees. 
That the institution might be exempt from any external 
contamination and be free to work out its methods, it was 
planted by itself " in a dense and unbroken forest eight 
miles from Elyria and thirty-three from Cleveland." The 
college and the village to grow up around it, were to be of 
the same name, and both were to exemplify the spirit and 
life of the famed Swiss pastor whose name was adopted. 
The founders and the first colonists Avere of Puritan New 
Eno-land stock. The board of trustees is a close corporation, 
and fills Avithout any external interference, all vacancies 
which may occur in its membership. The members were 
at first brought together by common sympathies and similar 
judgments, but the charter does not require them to hold 
any designated creed. 

The plan of the institution contemplates a Theological 
Seminary, and this is Congregational, and indeed, the mem- 
bers of the faculty have probably always been of that de- 
nomination. But there is no ecclesiastical supervision. 

In the spring of 1835, President Asa Mahan and Professors 
C. G. Finney, John Morgan, and Henry Cowles entered upon 
their duties in the institution. President Mahan remained 
in office until 1850, when he was succeeded by Professor 
Finney, to be succeeded in turn in 1866, by Professor J. H. 
Fairchild, the present incumbent. All the gentlemen above 
named have proved themselves to be very able men. 



) 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 221 

From the first, students of both sexes were admitted, and 
in the winter of 1834-5, the doors were opened to all with- 
out distinction of color. These were peculiar features and at- 
tracted no little attention. With the admission of colored stu- 
dents was combined a decided and an aggressive anti-slavery 
spirit. The students were armed for the great moral conflict 
which Avas beginning to agitate the nation. The very name 
of Oberlin became a power in the land. There went forth 
from the little village planted in the forest a voice which 
reached distant and unwilling ears and compelled attention. 
The voice came not from the college as a merely literary in- 
stitution, but rather from the all-pervading spirit of the 
place — from teachers, pupils and patrons whose religion was 
largely philanthrophy, and whose philanthrophy was intense" 
ly religious. In a word, Oberlin was a noble and potent ism 
with a college attached. Thus it continued for nearly thirty 
years, until the war put an end to slavery in the land and 
the amendments of the Constitution gave equal civil rights 
to all. Since the war the college has made decided progress 
as a literary institution, and is doing a good work, one of 
constantly increasing magnitude, in the cause of higher 
learning. 

The admission of young ladies to the college course of 
study has, in the opinion of the faculty, been attended by 
no injurious results, and the plan of co-education is pro- 
nounced an unquestionable success. Such ladies are under 
the special supervision of a lady principal and a ladies' 
board. While young ladies have constituted more than one- 
third of the whole number in attendance upon the schools, 
not a very large number has attended the regular college 
course, or graduated from it. Of the regular graduates ladies 
have constituted thirteen per cent. The number of colored 
students has always been small, and few have graduated. 
Wilberforce University under the care of the African Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, now draws this class largely to it- 



222 



EDUCATION IN OHIO. 



self. Other colleges in the State also receive colored students. 
But to Oberlin must be accorded the credit of fighting the 
first battle for the right of the colored race to college educa- 
tion in Ohio. 

There are two courses of study ; the Classical and Scien- 
tific, or " College '' course ; and the Literary. " The for- 
mer embraces the studies usually pursued in American 
colleges, so arranged that after the freshman year the student 
can give a classical or scientific character to his course by a 
system of elections." 

The literary course omits all the Greek of the classical 
course, and part of the Latin and mathematics. This course 
is the one generally pursued by young ladies. Below these 
courses above named are the classical preparatory school and 
an English school. 

The aggregate attendance in the various courses and 
schools has always been large. The average number of stu- 
dents of all grades from 1834 to 1852 was 462, and from 1853 
to 1876, 1,150. Of the latter number 32 per cent, were " in 
departments above the preparatory." The whole number of 
graduates, exclusive of theological students, is 757, of whom 
100 were ladies, or an average of 18 each year since 1834. 

The college has done good literary work, and its course of 
study corresponds with that of similar institutions. It 
has sent forth many graduates who have won honorable dis- 
tinction in public life. Hon. J. D. Cox, Major General dur- 
ing the war, and afterward Governor of Ohio, was a graduate 
of Oberlin. A large number have entered the ministry. 
Many have became presidents and professors in colleges, and 
a large number teachers. 

Connected Avith the college is a Conservatory of Music, 
organized in 1865, which is largely attended. The course 
requires for its completion from two to four years. The 
average attendance during the last seven years has been 
266. The thorough training here given makes this depart- 
ment one of great usefulness and value. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 223 

There are five literary societies, three in the Classical, 
and two in the Literary, departments. No secret societies 
are permitted by the college laws and none are supposed 
to have ever existed. 

There is an Alumni Association, organized in 1839. This 
association appoints three corresponding members of the 
board of trustees, who have all the j:»rivileges of regular 
members of that body except that of voting. A Gym- 
nasium Association affords to its members every needed 
fiicility for physical training under competent instructors. 

The institution is well furnished with buildings. Of 
these, the most imposing and beautiful is the Council Hall. 
The aggregate number of volumes in the college and so- 
ciety libraries is 14,600. 

A cabinet atfords ample means for illustration in the de- 
jjartments of geology, mineralogy and natural history. There 
is also a good supply of apparatus for class illustration in the 
departments of physics and chemistry. 

Oberlin like the other colleges of the State has been 
compelled to struggle with poverty. The founders of the 
college early indulged in a mild form of speculation, in 
])uying nearly 6,000 acres of land near the site of the in= 
stitution, for one dollar and a half an acre and selling them 
for two dollars and a half. Arthur Tappan, well kttown for 
his philanthropy, gave $10,000 for the erection of Tappan 
Hall. Charles French of Cleveland, g&,\e by bequest $5,000. 
The benefactions to the college hi\ve x^ever been in very 
large sums. 

Thirty thousand dollars were raised ixx England about the 
year 1840. From the Historical Sketch we learn that, " In 
1850 a movernent w£vs made to secure an endowment of 
$100,000 by the sale of scholarships guaranteeing free tui- 
tion to the holders. The work of securing pledges was ac- 
con^plished in a little n;^Qre than a year. These scholar- 
ships were oX three classes, one entitling the holder to tui-. 



224 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

tion for six years, another for eighteen and the other per- 
petually. The prices of these scholarships were $25, $50, 
and $1 00. This measure which has been unprofitable to 
some colleges, was eminently wise and successful here. 
The money thus secured has been safely and profitably, in- 
vested and the income from it is much more than the col- 
lege ever received from tuition." 

The estimated aggregate value of the property of the 
college in lands, buildings, money, etc., is $500,000. Of this 
only $145,000 produce revenue — $115,000 for the college and 
$30,000 for the theological department. 

The manual labor system was tried, but the hopes of its 
friends were not realized, and compulsory labor is now one 
of the traditions of the early years of the college. This 
tradition is probably no where so well preserved as on the 
college seal, the motto of which is " Learning and Labor." 



MARIETTA COLLEGE. 

The charter of this college bears date February 14, 1835, 
As with many other colleges, it grew out a successful 
chartered academy. The town of Marietta being the Ply- 
mouth of Ohio we should expect to find among the trustees 
of the college persons bearing historic names. There have 
been eight trustees from the direct descendents of Gen. 
Israel Putnam, Gen. Rufus Putnam, Rev. Dr. Manasseh 
Cutler, and Gen. Benjamin Tupper. The three last men- 
tioned acted an important part in the affairs of the Ohio 
Company which made the settlement at Marietta in 1788. 
Among the present trustees we find the names of Douglas 
Putnam, Esq., and Douglas Putnam, Jun., direct descend- 
ents of Gen. Israel Putnam; Hon. \Vm. R. Putnam, a grand- 
son of Gen. Rufus Putnam ; Hon. Wm. P. Cutler and Gen. 
Rufus R. Dawes, the first a grandson, and the second a great 
grandson of Dr. Manasseh Cutler; and A. T. Nye, Esq., a 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 225 

grandson of Gen. Tupper. The first president of tlie board 
was Hon. John Cotton, M. D., a graduate of Harvard, and a 
descendent of Rev. John Cotton, a famous clergyman of Bos- 
ton, in the Colonial days. 

The board is a close corporation. No religious qualifica- 
tion is required for membership and no denominational 
control of any kind is possible. Various religious denomi- 
nations have been represented in the faculty, the Congre- 
gational and Presbyterian more largely than any other- 
The college has always been under decided moral and relig- 
ious influence. The first President of the college was Rev. 
Joel H. Linsley, D. D., a graduate of Middlebury College, 
Vermont, and at the time of his appointment, the pastor of 
Park Street Congregational Church, Boston. He resigned a 
successful presidency in 1846. Henry Smith, D. D., a grad- 
uate of Middlebury College, who had been Professor of Lan- 
guages from the very beginning of the institution, was 
chosen his successor. His administration was marked by 
great ability. He remained until the winter of 1854—5, 
when he resigned to accept a professorship in Lane Theo- 
logical Seminary. He was succeeded by I. W. Andrews, 
D. D., the present incumbent, who had been the professor 
of mathematics since 1839. President Andrews graduated 
at Williams College, Massachusetts, in 1837. Thus it ap- 
pears that all of the presidents, except the first, were chosen 
from the professors of the college. 

The institution has been a college and nothing else. Its 
aim has been to have a full and thorough four years' course 
of hard study and to get as many young men through it as 
possible. The Historical Sketch states that " Marietta has 
no hesitation in declaring a decided preference for the meth- 
ods adopted at Yale and Williams over those of Charlotte- 
ville and Ithaca." There is connected with it the usual 
preparatory school, called the academy, but this is all. For 
a few years there was a partial course called, but not aptly, 



226 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

scientific, in which Greek and perhaps Latin were omitted. 
Tliis has been discontinued for many years. 

The first class graduated in 1838. The Avhole number who 
have completed the course and received the degree of Bache- 
lor of Arts is 404. Many of these have filled positions of 
usefulness and honor. The Historical Sketch, which is very 
full,, states that, " the number of graduates is to the number 
of freshmen as 6Q to 100. Of the graduates, 37 per cent, have 
been clergymen ; 25 per cent, business men ; 17 per cent, 
lawyers ; 8 per cent, physicians ; and 8 per cent, professional 
teachers.'' 

The college has never sold scholarships below the regular 
tuition rates. There are thirty endowed scholarships of 
$1,000 each. The grounds are beautiful and shaded, and 
the buildings are well adapted to meet the needs of the 
institution. 

The aggregate number of volumes in the several libraries 
is 27,000. For this large and excellent library there is a large 
and handsome library building, erected by the Alumni. 

The value of the property of the college may be estimated 
at a little less than $300,000. ^ 

The people of Marietta and of its immediate vicinitv have 
given to the college $163,000. The trustees have given 
$135,000. One of them, Douglas Putnam, Esq., who has 
already given more than any other individual, offers an 
additional $50,000 when the same amount is raised from 
others. Col. John Mills has given between $20,000 and 
$30,000. Few colleges have had a more devoted and gen- 
erous board of trustees. The home friends of the institution 
have ever been very warm friends. 

The cabinets — 'mineralogical, geological, conchological, 
etc. — contain over 30,000 specimens, and the department of 
physics is well supplied with apparatus. There is also a 
well furnished laboratorv. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 227 

The institution was never more prosperous than at the 
present time, but it needs additional endowment. 



OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY. 

This institution is located near the center of the State, at 
Delaware, Delaware county. It was incorporated March 7, 
18.42. It is controlled by twenty-five trustees, divided into 
five groups of five each. The Alumni choose the members of 
one group, and the four Methodist Episcopal Conferences — 
the Ohio, the North Ohio, the Cincinnati, and the Central 
Ohio — choose the members of the other four groups. The 
period of office is five years, and in each group one member 
retires and a new one is elected annually. 

The college buildings occupy a campus of thirty acres, 
which is being planted by Rev. J. H. Creighton with all the 
species of trees and shrubs adapted to the climate. The 
estimated value of the property of the university is 
$381,888. 

The endowment has been contributed by the Methodist 
denomination, and mostly in small sums. An effort is now 
on foot to raise $100,000 as an additional endowment, of 
which about one-half has been secured. The nominal tui- 
tion fee is $30 a year, but such tuition is never received, as 
appears from the following statement: "-Scholarships can 
be purchased at the university at prices as follows : Per- 
petual, $500; twenty years, $100; ten years, $50; six years, 
$30 ; four years, $20; and two years, $15." Probably all the 
students attend on scholarships. 

The aggregate number of volumes in. the libraries of the 
college is 12,920. These volumes aie preserved in a suitable 
library building. The museum contains large and valuable 
collections in botany,, zoology, mineralogy, geology, etc. A 
laboratory affords facilities for chemical manipulation under 
the supervision of the professor of chemistry. 



228 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The whole number of graduates is 625, of whom 170 have 
become clergymen, 142 lawyers, and 60 physicians. Over 
50 have held positions as presidents or professors in colleges. 

The university has been fortunate in its presidents. The 
first was Rev. E. Thomson, D. D., L.L. D. He was a native 
of England, but educated in this country, partly at Canons- 
burgh, Pa., and partly at Philadelphia, where he took the 
degree of M. D. He was a man of ability and of popular 
address. He was elected president in 1846, and remained at 
the head of the institution for fourteen years. He resigned in 
1860, and was elected one of the bishops of the M. E. Church 
in 1864. He was succeeded by Rev. F. Merrick, A. M., who 
had been a professor in the institution during the previous 
fifteen years, occupying successively the chairs of Natural 
Science and of Moral Science. He had had even earlier ex- 
perience in teaching as Principal of the Amenia Seminary, 
N. Y., and as professor of Natural Sciences in the Ohio Uni- 
versity. He was for a time an assistant on the geological sur- 
vey of New York, and geological sections prepared by him ap- 
pear in the published report of the First District. He held the 
position of president from 1860 until 1873, when he resigned. 
He has not left the institution, however, but remains as lec- 
turer on natural and revealed religion. The university is 
greatly indebted to him for its prosperity. The present 
President is Rev. C. H. Payne, D. D., elected in the summer 
of 1875. He is a graduate of the Wesleyan University, Con- 
necticut, and has been a successful pastor in the Methodist 
Church. He came to Delaware from the pastorate of St. 
Paul's M. E. Church, Cincinnati. 

The Ohio Wesleyan University has ever had a strong 
hold upon the affections of the people of the M. E. Church 
in Ohio. It has educated a large number of preachers for 
its pulpits, many of whom, combining the spontaneity and 
freedom of the olden time with the liberal culture and men- 
tal discipline of the university, have become preachers of a 
high order. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 229 

The university disavows all sectarianism. The Historical 
Sketch states this point strongly, as follows : 

" The objects of the institution are not in the least sectarian. It 
aims, however, to give a full, healthy, moral and Christian education. 
It has had members of all denominations among its students ; it has 
graduated Roman Catholics. It has not a single Methodist book in its 
course as a text-book. * ••■ * Chapel worship is held every morn- 
ing — consisting of Scripture-reading, singing and prayer. The profes- 
sors usually officiate in turn. The teachers are generally Methodists, 
though there have been among them Presbyterians and Quakers." 



ST. XAYIER COLLEGE. 

This institution grew up from a parish school connected 
Avith the first Catholic church established in Cincinnati. 
The school commencing about the year 1821, was changed 
October 17, 1831, by Rt. Rev. E. D. Fenwick, D. D., the first 
Bishop of Cincinnati, into a literary institution called the 
Athenaeum. For this institution a building of brick was 
erected with tower and spire, which in those early days at- 
tracted attention by its imposing character, and, perhaps, 
not less by the strange inscription carved upon its front — 
" Athenxum Religioni et Artibus Sacrum.'" The institution 
did not altogether flourish, and in 1840 Most Rev. Arch- 
bishop J. B. Purcell, D. D., gave it to the Fathers of the 
Society of Jesus. It then became St. Xavier College, and 
in 1842 was chartered by the General Assembly and received 
the usual university privileges. 

Students from abroad generally boarded in the college, and 
day scholars were received from the city. The boarding de- 
partment was discontinued in 1854. In the pleasantly 
written Historical Sketch of the institution, it is claimed 
that in addition to the high character of its teaching, the 
retention of " corporal chastisement," too much neglected 
elsewhere, " induced many Protestants to prefer it to many 
of their own seminaries for the education of their sons." 

The classical may be regarded as the central department 



230 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

of the college, and the degree of Bachelor of Arts is given, 
followed after two years spent by the graduate in literary 
pursuits, or one year devoted to philosophy, by that of Mas- 
ter of Arts. " The classes," says the Historical Sketch, 
" though differently named, agree substantially with those 
of non-Catholic colleges : philosophy, rhetoric, poetry and 
humanities corresponding respectively with the senior, 
junior, sophomore, and freshman classes of other institu- 
tions." French and German are obligatory in the academic 
course. In 1867, a part of a new college building was erect- 
ed on the corner of Seventh and Sycamore streets. This 
part is in dimensions 120 feet by 66, and the entire building, 
completed according to the design, will be a structure of 
architectural beauty and of great size, quiet eclipsing the 
glory of the former Athenaeum so honored in its day. The 
motto over its door. Ad Majorem Dei gloriam,'^ grandly dedi- 
cates the whole. , 

It may be interesting to know how funds are obtained for 
such a structure. The Historical Sketch says : 

" Toward this undertaking one zealous clergyman subscribed $10,000, 
another $1,000, and a Catholic layman of the city, who is always fore- 
most in works of charity, donated $1,000. These sums, with a few 
smaller amounts, were all the aid received from without ; the remain- 
ing funds, amounting to about $130,000, were the result of years of 
saving and economy in the management of the college finances." 

The chief source of income is the tuition fee, $G0 a year 
for each student. If the above statement is calculated to 
arrest the attention of college trustees and college treasurers, 
what will our college professors say to the following : 

" The professors receive no salary whatever, and dovote their talents 
and life to the cause of education. They live at the college, are un- 
married, lead a common life, indulge in no superfluities, and some- 
times even stint themselves in what they might legitimately claim, 
when the circumstances of the college demand such sacrifice. Had St. 
Xavier College to pay the professors salaries such as their abilities 
warrant and other institutions pay, it could not live a day." 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 231 

The Sketch gives an account of the preparatory training 
of these professors, which we condense. After completing a 
collegiate course, they are " tried two years in a novitiate to 
see whether they will suit the Society and the Society will 
suit them, and if the satisfaction is mutual, they are per- 
mitted to take vows by which they bind themselves to the 
Society, and agree to accept any of its usual ministrations 
for which they shall be found fit. * * * During two more 
years they repeat their rhetoric and poetry, studying the 
classics both ancient and modern very minutely, with a 
view of preparing themselves afterAvard to teach these 
branches or any others." They then make a thorough study 
of Christian philosophy for three years, not neglecting litera- 
ture, and pay special attention to the physical sciences and 
mathematics. It rarely happens that any one is applied to 
teaching till he has finished this preparatory training ; and 
then he usually begins with a lower class, and advances up- 
ward year by year. After a period varying from four to five 
years, they are ordained clergymen, having previously ap- 
plied themselves exclusively to theology during a space 
of three or four years, and then usually resume the labor of 
teaching." 

There is at St. Xavier a corps of eighteen professors, Avith 
Rev. E. A. Higgins the efficient president, at its head. 

The whole number of graduates is 230, and the number 
of students in attendance last year (1875) was 274. 

The library of the college numbers 14,000 volumes, and 
contains many rare and valuable works. 

The museum contains collections of conchological, geo- 
logical and mineralogical specimens, sufficiently large for 
the purpose of class illustration. A suitable provision of 
philosophical and chemical apparatus has been made. Music 
and drawing are taught by professors of these branches liv- 
ing in the city of Cincinnati. 

The Historical Sketch declares that the faculty " never 



232 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

tamper with the religious belief of any student, and studi- 
ously avoid influencing him in any way except by the ex- 
ample of a good life." 

WITTENBERG COLLEGE. 

This institution is located at Springfield, Clarke county. 
It received its charter from the General Assembly, March 
11, 1845. 

Its ecclesiastical connection is with that branch of the 
Evangelical Lutheran Church represented in the religious 
body known as the " General Synod of the United States." 
The board of directors is appointed by the following Synods : 
the Synod of East Ohio, the Synod of Miami, the Witten- 
berg Synod, all in Ohio, and the Synod of Northern Indi- 
ana, and the Olive Branch Synod, in Indiana. The synods 
by which directors are chosen fix their time of service and 
are the only tribunal to which they are responsible. There 
are now thirty-six members of the board, thirty-four repre- 
senting synods and two from Clarke county, as provided for 
in the constitution. 

There is a theological department which has held a prom- 
inent place in the institution. The institution had its 
origin, as so many others in the West have had theirs, in 
the religious and educational wants of the denomination it 
represents. Its establishment, according to the Historical 
Sketch, " was demanded for the education of a ministry 
sufficient in number and with an evangelical spirit who 
would stem the tide of formalism " at that time invading 
the Lutheran Church. 

Wittenberg College possesses a beautiful campus of forty 
acres in the suburbs of Springfield, and has a productive 
endowment fund of one hundred and twenty-five thousand 
dollars. The total value of its property, exclusive of library, 
cabinet, apparatus, etc., is estimated at $175,000. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 233 

The libraries in connection with the college contain 8,000 
volumes. The philosophical and chemical apparatus is said 
to be sufficient for class illustration, and the cabinet con- 
tains many valuable specimens. 

Aside from the theological, there are no other departments 
than the collegiate with the necessary preparatory course 
attached. Preparations are made to open a department of 
Civil Engineering at the beginning of the winter session of 
this year. Wittenberg College is strictly a college and has 
ever done good work in a thorough and unpretentious way. 

Rev. Ezra Keller, D. D., a graduate of Gettysburg College, 
Pennsylvania, in 1835, a man of strong intellect and of rare 
moral worth, was the first President. He died in 1848. He 
was succeeded by Samuel Sprecher, D. D., LL. D., a gentle- 
man of profound learning and high Christian character. 
The simple genuineness of his scholarship has left its mark 
upon the institution. He still retains the professorship 
of Mental Philosophy. The college has worthily honored 
its own work in appointing in 1874 as the successor of Dr. 
Sprecher, Rev. J. B. Helwig, D. D., a graduate of the class 
of 1861. 

There have been 261 graduates of the college, an average 
of 10.44 each year, and 145 from the theological depart- 
ment. The whole number of students in the four college 
classes, as given in the catalogue of 1874-5, is 65, that in 
the preparatory 66. There is a select course in which there 
are 22 pupils, chiefly from Springfield. The names of young 
ladies are found in the catalogue in connection with the 
preparatory and select courses, but none appear in the col- 
lege classes nor among the alumni. 

From the triennial catalogue of 1874-5, it appears that 
ninety-six of the graduates have entered the ministry. 
Eleven have become college professors. 

President Helwig, in his Historical Sketch of the college, 
has with filial affection delineated the character and labors 

16 



234 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

of his predecessors, Doctors Keller and Sprecher. In his 
tribute to the latter we find the following significant state- 
ment : 

"The light which shone from that banner of truth lifted up by 
Luther in the Wittenberg of Europe, has had its lustre brightened by 
Dr. Sprecher, the teacher of the Wittenberg of America, and with- 
out fear of successful contradiction, we hesitate not to declare that the 
' General Synod of Lutheranism ' of the 19th century is more fully in 
accord with the teaching of the sacred scriptures than was the Luther- 
anism of the 16th century." 



BALDWIN UNIVEESITY. 

This institution is located at Berea, Cuyahoga county. 
Its existence is due to the generosity of John BaldAvin, Esq., 
a citizen of Berea, who gave to the North Ohio Annual Con- 
ference of the Methodist Episcopal church lands, buildings, 
etc., for its endowment. In September, 1844, Mr. Baldwin 
offered fifty acres of ground, including grind-stone quarries 
.and water privileges, on which he engaged to erect a brick 
building 72 feet by 36, to be finished in the fall of 1845. In 
the June following, he offered fifty village lots to be sold at 
.a fair valuation and the proceeds funded for the use of the 
institution. These offers were accepted by the Conference, 
:and a charter for the Baldwin Institute obtained in Decem. 
ber, 1845. The board of trustees was organized January 
21, 1846, and the institute was opened with male and 
female departments, on the 9th of April following, with Rev. 
H. Dwight as Principal. In 1855, the trustees acting under 
the direction of the Conference, secured a change in the 
charter and the name was changed to Baldwin University, 
hy which it is now known. The first President was Rev. 
John Wheeler, D. D. His successors have been W. D. God. 
man, D. D., and A. Schuyler, LL. D., the present incum- 
bent. In 1858, a German Department was organized under 
the care of O- Henning, Pli. D. In 1863, this department 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 235 

became a separate institution under the name of the " Ger- 
man Wallace College " in honor of Hon. James Wallace who 
gave the building it occupies. The two institutions still con- 
tinue practically united, the same instructors teaching in 
both. Students in one are entitled to free tuition in the 
other. The German Wallace College is patronized largely 
by the German Methodists of the State. 

In 1865, a College of Pharmacy was organized as a j^art of 
Baldwin University, with a professor of Pharmacy and Prac- 
tical Chemistry, and another of Toxicology and Materia 
Medica. Mr. Bakhvin appears to abound in noble deeds in 
behalf of the institution. The Historical Sketch states that 
"in addition to his original grant, he paid for many years 
the interest on ten thousand dollars which had been appro- 
priated to the support of a professorship. In the winter of 
1867, he donated forty acres of stone quarry, worth at least 
three thousand dollars per acre, or in the aggregate, one hun- 
dred and twenty thousand dollars. This princely gift has 
placed the institution on a solid foundation— literally has 
founded it upon a rock." The university has three build- 
ings, two of brick and one of stone, the latter being used for 
a chapel and recitation rooms. Twenty thousand dollars are 
subscribed for the erection of a ladies' hall, Avhich is now in 
progress. 

The institution is entirely out of debt and possesses assets 
to the amount of $190,000. It has a good working apparatus 
worth fifteen hundred dollars and a library of two thousand 
volumes. 

There are fifteen trustees chosen by the Conference. They 
are divided into three classes of five each, one of which 
retires every year. 

The whole number of alumni is 189, and the present 
senior class numbers 15. The institution appears to be in a 
healthy and prosperous condition. Two of its professors are 
ladies, one occupying the chair of Mathematics and the 



236 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

other that of Rhetoric and English Literature. The Presi- 
dent, well known as a mathematician and an author, is 
professor of Philosophy and Applied Mathematics. 

The department of mathematics is evidently a strong one 
in this institution, while the whole course of study appears 
to be excellent and thorough. 

There is also a scientific course of five years, embracing 
the same sciences and mathematics as the classical course, 
but with less Latin, and with French instead of Greek. 

OTTERBEIN UNIVERSITY. 

This institution is located at Westerville, Franklin county. 
It originated with the desire to secure to the church of the 
Ujiitecl Brethren, a ministry of higher culture and to ad- 
vance the cause of learning among the people of the denomi- 
nation. Some of the people looked with a measure of sus- 
picion upon higher learning as having an infidel tendency, 
and putting the matter before their minds in an antitheti- 
cal way, preferred religion without learning, to learning 
without religion. Fortunately there were good men in the 
church who Avanted both. These men had learned what 
some other denominations had previously learned, that the 
day had passed when ignorance, however pious and zealous, 
could be an acceptable teacher of the profound doctrines of 
the christian religion. The founders of Otterbein univer- 
sity disregarded the old prejudices and resolutely set to 
work to educate the sons as the most ready way to enlighten 
the fathers. 

The university was chartered in 1849, although a board of 
trustees had been previously appointed which held its first 
meeting April 26, 1847. Two conferences, Sandusky and 
Scioto, were represented in the board, three members from 
each. In 1847 the academy called the Blendon Young Mens^ 
Seminary, located at Westerville, was bought, and academi- 
cal instruction given, Wm. R. Griffeth being the Principal. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 237 

The history of the institution in its financial aspects is 
not unlike that of most of the other colleges. There has 
been the usual struggle with poverty. The denomination 
in Ohio is not a rich one, and has never been trained to look 
upon the endowment of colleges as either a privilege or a 
duty, and the work of building up the institution progressed 
slowly. In 1870 a disastrous fire swept away a large edifice 
which contained the chapel, libraries, recitation rooms? 
society halls, etc. The loss was estimated at $50,000, re- 
lieved by an insurance of $20,000. In the college library 
were over 3000 volumes, and all were burned. A degree 
of distinction had been given the library by a copy of the 
Sinaitic Manuscript presented by the Emperor of Russia. 
This was burned. The trustees and friends of the university 
met the calamity bravely and raised funds for a new build- 
ing, which is much larger and finer than the one lost, it 
being in extreme length 170 feet, and in depth 109 feet. 
The presidents of the university have been as follows : 
Rev. Wm. Davis, 1849 to 1850. 

" Lewis Davis, D. D., 1850 to 1857. 

" Alexander Owen, 1858 to 1860. 

" Lewis Davis, D. D., 1860 to 1871. 

" Daniel Eberly, A. M., 1871 to 1872. 

" H. A. Thompson, D. D., 1872 to the present time. 
President Lewis Davis who was president for eighteen 
years, stands out with great prominence among the founders 
and guides of the institution. He had faith in God and 
faith in final success, and with this wealth of faith an in- 
domitable will and an indestructible hopefulness. He was 
one of the first trustees and was thoroughly devoted to the 
great work of laying the foundation of an institution de- 
signed to be a blessing to his church and to mankind. 

There are four courses of study, the Classical, Scientific, 
Ladies and English. The ladies course is quite similar to 
the scientific. Preparatory instruction is given but there 



238 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

is not for it a separately organized department with special 
teachers. 

No discrimination has ever been made against colored 
students. Such discrimination could not well be made by 
an institution representing the church of the United Breth- 
ren which has always been hostile to slavery and forbidden 
slave-holders the rite of communion. In 1859 there was an 
effort to exclude such students and two of the six members 
of the executive committee voted in favor of such exclusion, 
at least until the board of trustees should pass upon the 
question. They were never excluded. 

The manual labor system Avas at first adopted, requiring 
all the students to perform a certain amount of daily labor, 
but it failed as signally at Otterbein as at the many other 
colleges in the West, where it was tried. 

All the students are required to attend chapel exercises 
once a day, and religious services on Sabbath morning, un- 
less excused to attend some other church in the village. 
There has always prevailed a strong religious influence in 
the institution. The whole number of graduates reported 
is 150, of whom 50 are young Avomen. This number repre- 
sents only a small part of the whole number who have 
studied for a longer or shorter time at Otterbein. 

President Thompson makes the following gratifying state- 
ment : " Throughout the length and breadth of the church, 
our influence has been felt for good. We have helped to 
furnish teachers for nearly all its other schools and colleges. 
Our sons have entered its ministry and have put into it a 
new life and power. We have furnished editors for its jour- 
nals, and teachers for its first theological school. We have 
just reason to thank God and take courage. " 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 239 



HIRAM COLLEGE. 

This institution is located at Hiram, in Portage county. It 
is under the auspices of the religious denomination called the 
Disciples, or sometimes Christians. There being many of 
this faith on the Western Reserve, and there being no liter- 
ary institution of their kind nearer than the one at Bethany, 
W. Va., founded by the late Alexander Campbell, the desire 
for one became general and grew into a confessed want. 
They set about the matter in earnest in 1849, and March 
1, 1850, secured a special charter from the General Assembly 
for the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. 

President Hinsdale has given so distinctly the peculiar 
aims of the founders in his Historical Sketch, that we quote 
his words : 

" (1.) To provide a sound scientific and literary education. 

" (2.) To temper and sweeten such education with moral and Scrip- 
tural knowledge. 

" (3.) To educate young men for the ministry. 

' One pscuUar tenet of the religious movement in which it originated 
was impressed upon the Eclectic Institute at its organization. The 
Disciples thouglit that the Bible had in a degree been obscured by 
theological speculations and ecclesiastical systems. Hence, their re- 
ligious movement was a revolt from the theology of the schools, and an 
overture to men to come face to face with the Scriptures. They believed 
also that to the holy writings belonged a larger place in general culture 
than had yet been accorded to them. Accordingly, in all their educa- 
tional institutions, they have emphasized the Bible and its related 
branches of knowledge. This may be called the distinctive feature of 
their schools. The charter of the Eclectic Institute, therefore, declared 
the purpose of the institution to be, ' The instruction of youth of both 
sexes in the various branches of literature and science, especially of 
moral science as based upon the facts and precepts of the Holy Scrip^. 
tures.' " 

The institute was incorporated as a stock company,, the. 
amount of capital stock being limited to $50,000 diividled' 
into shares of $25 each, to be used exclusively for the- pur-- 
poses of education. The stockholders elect the boai'<i.of; 



240 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

trustees, limited by the following provision : " No stock- 
holder shall have more than four votes for $100, six votes 
for $200, seven for $300, and eight for $400 or more." Presi- 
dent Hinsdale thus writes : " As it is an open question how 
college boards of trustees should be elected, it is proper to 
add that in Hiram the stockholders' plan has always worked 
well." 

The institute always prospered as to members, but the 
elective plan being in operation, and students generally 
chosing their studies, little attempt was made to enforce a 
regular curriculum. The institute conferred no degrees. 

The first principal was Rev. A. S. Hayden, 1850-57. He 
was succeeded by Hon. James A. Garfield, a graduate of 
Williams College (1856) who held the office greatly to the 
advantage of the institution from 1857 to 1861. The subse- 
quent principals were H. W. Everest, C. W. Heywood, A. J. 
Thompson, and J. M. Atwater. 

In February, 1867, the board of trustees changed the name 
to Hiram College, and the college as such began its life and 
work the following August, 

The first president was Rev. Silas E. Shepherd, A. M., who 
retained the office only one year and was succeeded by Prof. 
J. M. Atwater, A. M., who had previously held the chair of 
Ancient Languages. He was followed in 1870 by B. A. Hins- 
dale, A. M., the present incumbent. President Hinsdale had 
been professor in the institution for several years previously. 
Under his supervision the college has been more prosperous 
than ever before. 

There are, besides the regular classical course, several other 
courses, viz. : the Latin and scientific, requiring five years 
for its completion, including the preparatory studies ; the 
scientific course which omits both Latin and Greek ; the la- 
><iies' course of four years; a teacher's course of two years; 
.and a <2ommercial course of one year. There is also a Bibli- 
tGsil or partial theological course. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 241 

There have been forty-two graduates, as shown by the 
published table of statistics. The degree of Bachelor of Arts is 
given to those who graduate from the classical course, that of 
Bachelor of Philosophy to those who graduate from the Latin 
and scientific course, and Bachelor of Science to those who 
graduate from the scientific course. Diplomas are bestowed 
upon those who finish the other courses. 

The ratio of graduates to the freshmen is 43.75 per cent. 

The financial condition of the institution is given as 

follows : 

The buildings, grounds, apparatus, etc $25,000 

The endowments 65,000 

Total $90,000 

The various libraries contain in the aggregate 2,528 vol- 
umes. There is a " small but well selected museum." 

To those who desire special Biblical instruction, " the 
leading tenets of the Disciples have been taught, but all 
attempts to exercise over the body of the students a peculiar 
denominational influence have been carefully avoided." 

HEIDELBERG COLLEGE. 

This college is located in the city of Tiffin, Seneca county. 
It was founded in 1850 by direction of the Synod of Ohio 
of the German Reformed Church, now known as the Reform- 
ed Church in the United States. Its charter was granted 
by the General Assembly of Ohio, February IS, 1851. 

The board of trustees is elected by the Synod of Ohio, and 
is composed of twenty-four members, fix of Avhom are chosen 
each year. 

The college buildings, consisting of the main college 
edifice, the ladies' hall and a president's house, are situated 
in a beautiful campus of nine acres within the corporate 
limits of the city. The endowment, derived chiefly from 
individuals in sympathy with the Reformed Church, 



242 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

amounts to about $100,000, one half of which has been 
paid for scholarships. About $60,000 of the whole yields 
revenue. The remainder is in notes payable at the death 
of the donors, without interest. In 1872, R. W. Shawhan of 
Tiffin, gave the college 6,000 acres of land in Missouri, from 
which no income is derived as yet. 

There are two courses of study, the regular Classical or Col- 
lege course, and a Scientific course. The latter embraces a 
period of three years. There is, besides, a preparatory 
department. Young ladies are admitted to all the courses 
on equal terms with young men. The results of such 
admission are regarded as entirel}' satisfactory. Few young 
ladies, however, have taken the Classical course, preferring 
the shorter Scientific or English course. 

The libraries of the institution contain about 5,000 vol- 
umes. The cabinet contains many specimens of fossils 
minerals, etc. Among the other apparatus is a telescope 
of five inch aperture, made by Alvan Clark and Sons. There 
are three literary societies, the Excelsior, the Heidelberg, 
and the Delphian, which have libraries and hold meetings 
for debates, compositions, orations, etc. The whole number 
of graduates since 1854 is 138. In the same time there have 
been 772 freshmen, making the ratio of graduates to fresh- 
men a little over 20 per cent. The last graduating class of 
eighteen members gained one over its freshman number. 

The college is under religious, but not sectarian influen- 
ces. '' No sectarian instruction is required or given by the 
college." There is a religious exercise each morning in the 
chapel and public worship is conducted on the Sabbath. 

The faculty consists of a president and five professors and 
an instructor in vocal music. The President is Rev. G. W. 
Williard, D. D., who is also professor of Intellectual and 
Moral Philosophy, Logic and Evidences of Christianity. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 243 



WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY. 



This institution is located near Xenia, Green county, and 
was established for the education of the colored youth of the 
State and of the country. 

It was organized under the general law of Ohio, April 9, 
1852, and a board of trustees appointed, of which the Rev. 
John F. Wright was the president. At this time it was 
under the auspices of the Cincinnati Conference of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. Richard D. Rust, A. M., 
was the President and Professor of Theology and of Natural 
Sciences. The institution had many evils to contend with. 
The colored race in the North rested under a heavy burden of 
prejudice, the result of the long years of vassalage to which 
their brethren in the South had been subjected. Self asser- 
tion and the thrift growing out of it were well nigh impos- 
sible, and hence the colored people of the State were poor 
and almost friendless. To be their special friend and helper 
required an unusual degree of philanthrophy and moral 
firmness. The Methodist Episcopal Church deserves great 
credit for undertaking to do what they did. Very consider- 
able numbers of students of both sexes received more or less 
training and mental discipline, and were fitted to go out as 
teachers or preachers among their own people. The cata- 
logue of 1859-60 give the names of 207 students. It con- 
tinued under the supervision of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church until I8G0, when the property was sold to the Afri- 
can Methodist Episcopal Church. This property consisted 
of fifty-two acres of land in the vicinity of Xenia, with 
several buildings which had been originally erected for the 
accommodation of visitors to the medicinal springs which 
are found on the premises. A new charter was obtained^ 
and Bishop D. A. Payne, D. D., Rev. James A. Shorter, and 
John G. Mitchell constituted the legal corporation. The 
board was afterwards enlarged by the additions of persons 



244 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

designated by the conferences of the A. M. E. church. Sev- 
eral men of great distinction have been honorary members 
of the board. Among these we find in the catalogues the 
names of Chief Justice Chase, Major Generals 0. 0. Howard, 
Saxton, and Butler, Frederick Douglass, Prof. J. M. Langston, 
Hon. Charles Sumner, Rev. George B. Cheever, D. D., and 
Hon. Gerrit Smith. Many of these gentlemen have taken 
a deep interest in the welfare of the institution. Bishop 
Payne still remains its honored head. He was educated at 
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He possesses peculiar fitness for 
the position, and has made many friends for himself and for 
his philanthropic enterprise. His success in securing pecu- 
niary aid has been considerable, although more endowment 
is greatly needed. Among other gifts we find recorded 
$1,800 from the Society for the Promotion of Collegiate 
and Theological Education in the West, $4,000 from the 
American Unitarian Association — a peculiarly noble gift 
when we remember the strongly " evangelical " character of 
the institution ; $500 from Hon. Gerrit Smith ; from Chief 
Justice Chase during his life time, $250 and a legacy of 
$10,000; from the Freedman's Bureau $3,000, and from the 
same by special act of Congress $25,000. In the evening of 
April 14, 1865, the main college edifice was burned. This 
was the evening when throughout the North there were re- 
joicings and illuminations over the final overthrow of the 
great rebellion, and nearly all the colored people of the col- 
lege and vicinity had gone to Xenia to participate in the 
rejoicings. It was an incendiary fire, but its origin was not 
attributed to prejudice against the colored race, which does 
not prevail in the region of Xenia, but to revenge, on the 
part of a student who had been subjected to discipline. 
There was an insurance of $8,000 on the building. A new 
edifice of fine appearance and well adapted to its uses has 
been built. 

There are several departments of instruction. The great 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 245 

and original purpose of the institution was to give young 
men literary and theological preparation for the ministry. 
Hence the theological department is the prominent one. 
There is a classical department in which Latin and Greek 
are taught, and the usual studies of a college course. 

A scientific department gives the studies of the college 
course with the omission of Latin and Greek, but with the 
additiori of French and German. 

For the training of teachers there is a normal department. 

A law department has been planned, and will probably 
be established soon. 

The library contains 3,000 volumes. 

MOUNT UNION COLLEGE. 

This institution is located at Mount Union, Stark count3^ 
It grew out of a seminary established in this place by Rev. 
0. N. Hartshorn in 1846. It was chartered as a college, 
March 11, 1853. Among the " leading provisions," as given 
in the Historical Sketch, it is stated that, "the college shall 
not be a close corporation ; that the trustees hold their of- 
fice during three years, one-third of the number, determined 
upon being elected each year; that in electing trustees, any 
candid person, religious denomination, or philanthropic or- 
ganization donating to the college money or property shall 
be respectively entitled to one voice or vote for a trustee for 
every twenty-five dollars actually donated to. the college by 
said persons, denomination, or organization." 

There is a large central building for instruction con- 
nected with which is an observatory, and- it is in contem- 
plation to erect a new and capacious museum building. 
There are, belonging to the college, two large buildings 
devoted to boarding purposes. 

It is impossible to obtain from the Historical Sketch the 
aggregate value of the college property. The college has 



246 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

been fortunate in having in its board of trustees three gen- 
tlemen, each of whom has endowed a professorship by the 
generous donation of $25,000. These gentlemen are C. 
Aultman and Jacob Miller of Canton, and Lewis Miller 
of Akron. Many donations of smaller sums have been re- 
ceived, and also deeds of lands. The museum is estimated 
by President Hartshorn to be worth $251,000. Two grants 
of silver mines, one in Arizona and the other in Montana, 
are mentioned among the assets. 

The chemical and philosophical apparatus is adequate to 
the wants of the professors and students. There are also 
appliances for instruction in astronomy and geography. 
The observatory contains a telescope imported from Europe. 

There are four leading courses of study, Classical; Lib- 
eral Literature and Arts; Philosophical, and Scientific. Be- 
sides these, are the Normal, Music, Fine Arts, and Business 
departments. The studies preparatory to admission in the 
classical course are chiefly English studies including alge- 
bra (Ray's II part completed) and geometry, with the ad- 
dition of Harkness' Latin Grammar and Boise's Reader. 
The Latin and Greek are optional in college, the alterna- 
tive studies being German and French. 

Students may enter at any time and pursue any studies 
for which they are qualified. Such as have not studied 
Latin or Greek are admitted to regular and proper standing 
in the college classes, when equivalent acquirements in 
mathematics, literature, and natural sciences can be shown. 

The Historical Sketch says : " If a student need be absent 
during the summer season, the fall, winter and spring terms 
will still give him opportunity to do a college year's work ; 
or, if he attend all four terms, he can complete a four years' 
course in three calender years." 

Young ladies are admitted to all the courses of study. 

The institution has been commended to patronage by the 
Pittsburgh and West Virginia Annual Conferences but it 
disavows all sectarian character. 



HIGHER EDUCATION, 247 

The aggregate number of the graduates of the college is 
not given in the Sketch. There is, however, an enumera- 
tion with a classification of the students from 1858 to 1875 
inclusive. 

Under the head of " Science, Literature and the Arts," 
which we suppose includes the " Classical " and " Philoso- 
phical " in the courses already mentioned, we find .a total 
of 2,107 freshmen, 842 sophomores, 361 juniors, and 454 
Seniors. This gives a ratio of seniors to freshmen of 21 
per cent. The loss in passing from the freshman to the 
sophomore class is 60 per cent. For the last seven years, 
there has been a gain in the aggregate number of seniors 
over that of juniors of 31 per cent. Such a gain is un- 
usual in colleges where a rigid system of classification is 
followed. It may here be explained by supposing that those 
who make the four years' course in three years are not class- 
ified as juniors. 

The President of the college is Rev. O. N. Hartshorn, 
LL. D. He has been Avith the institution from the first as 
its head, and has ever inspired its growth. He deserves 
great credit for his indomitable energy in the prosecution of 
an enterprise to which he has devoted his life. 

ANTIOCH COLLEGE OF YELLOW SPRINGS, GREENE COUNTY, OHIO. 

This institution, as its name imports, is located at Yellow 
Springs, Greene County. It originated with a religious de- 
nomination called "Christians," which is to be distin- 
guished from the Disciples or Christians who established 
Hiram College. The name Antioch was chosen, because, in 
the ancient city of that name the disciples were first called 
christians. It was incorporated under the general law of 
Ohio, May 14th, 1859, under the simple name of " Antioch 
College, " but April 19th, 1859, was reorganized as " An- 
tioch College of Yellow Springs, Greene County, Ohio. " It 



248 p:ducation in ohio. 

was the original plan to raise an endowment fund by the 
sale of perpetual scholarships, at the price of $100 each, and 
to establish an institution in the state of New York, but the 
success in selling scholarships in Ohio having been far 
greater than in New York it was decided to locate the col- 
lege in the former State. To secure the location at Yellow 
Springs, the citizens of the place pledged a pleasant site of 
twenty acres of ground and $30,000 in money. This offer 
secured the location, and four buildings were subsequently 
erected, a large and handsome central hall, called Antioch 
Hall, two dormitories and a president's house. 

It was a singular provision in the articles of incorporation 
that the trustees were to be elected by the holders of scholar- 
ships, each scholarship being entitled to one vote, but no 
one holder could cast more than ten votes. The first meet- 
ing of the holders of scholarship for the election of trustees 
was held in the college chapel Sept. 4th, 1854, when thirty- 
three trustees were chosen. Among these were many emi- 
nent men of the East, such as Horace Mann, Moses H. Grin- 
nell, and Peter Cooper, Avho, although not " christians, " sym- 
pathized in the new enterprise. The officers of this board of 
trustees were: Hon. Aaron Harlan, President; Elias Smith, 
Vice President; Wm. R. King, Secretary; and Hon. Wm. 
Mills, Treasurer. 

Two years before this, Horace Mann having consented to 
become the president of the college, was elected to that office 
Sept. 15, 1852. At the same time five professors were 
elected, one of whom was a lady. Miss R. M. Pennell. 

The college did not go into operation until Oct. 5th, 1853. 
Young ladies were admitted on equal terms Avith gentlemen 
to all the privileges of the institution. 

At an early date colored students were received by Presi- 
dent Mann, although forbidden to receive them by the presi- 
dent of the board of trustees. In this Mr. Mann was sus- 
tained by the faculty and the doors have never been closed 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 249 

to such students. The college started upon its career pros- 
perously, and the first graduating class (1857) numbered 
fifteen — twelve gentlemen and three ladies. The fame of 
Horace Mann as the distinguished Secretary of the Massa- 
chusetts Board of Education, as a member of Congress, and 
as a man of progressive and liberal views, had preceeded him 
to the West and the college at once became popvdar. 

But difficulties awaited the young institution. By the 
charter "two-thirds of the board of trustees and a majority 
of the board of instruction must be members of the Christian 
denomination. " The endowment fund was to be raised by 
the sale of scholarships, and the building fund by special 
contributions. The former fund proved to be inadequate to 
the support of the faculty by an annual deficit of nearly 
$10,000, and the latter fund was soon exhausted, and the 
buildings were mortgaged to secure a large additional debt. 
In 1857, nearly $40,000 of the fund derived from scholarships 
had been "borrowed" to pay various expenses. This con- 
dition of affairs necessitated an assignment of the property. 
In 1859, the property was sold at two-thirds of an apprais- 
ment of $65,000, to T. H. Palmer, Esq., of New York. He 
assigned it to provisional trustees and by them it was as- 
signed, April 22, to the trustees of a new corporation known 
as " Antioch College of Yellow Springs, Greene County, 
Ohio." Money was raised by subscription from "Chris- 
tians " and Unitarians to pay the debts. In the new char- 
ter twelve of the twenty-four trustees Avere to be from the 
denomination of " Christians. " The board was to be a close 
corporation. The college was now free from debt and it re- 
solved to keep free. There was, however, no endowment 
and the faculty were supported chiefly by subscriptions. 
On the 5th of Aug. 1859, President Mann died. He was 
succeeded by Rev. Thomas Hill, D. D., who entered upon 
his duties in January, 1860. He was a man of wide learn- 
ing and an eminent mathematican, and afterwards became 

17 



250 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the President of Harvard University. In 1860, a class of 
28 was graduated. In 1861, the great civil war began and 
nothing could be done in providing funds for the Avants of 
the institution. President Hill resigned in June, 1862, and 
at the same time or soon after, the faculty resigned. At the 
request of the trustees, Prof. J. B. Weston did not leave, and 
instruction was given to such students as remained. Dur- 
ing this interim there was one graduate each year. By this 
time the harmony between the two denominations had be- 
come disturbed, and it was deemed best that one or the other 
should control the institution. The Unitarians agreed to 
surrender everything to the "Christians, " if they would raise 
$50,000 for the aid of the college within a year, which time 
was extended to two years. This was on condition that 
afterwards, the Unitarians should have a similar privilege 
of trial. The money was not raised by the " Christians. " 
Then the latter denomination made the attempt and suc- 
ceeded, having raised $100,000 by June 21, 1865. Thus the 
college passed into the hands of the Unitarians. The char- 
ter Avas revised and all sectarian tests eliminated. At the 
same time a faculty was appointed. Prof. Austin Craig, D. D. 
was acting president for a year, when Rev. G. W. Hos- 
mer, D. D., an eminent pastor of a Unitarian church of 
Buffalo, N. Y., was elected president. He proved to be a wise 
and able officer. He resigned Jan. 1, 1873, and was suc- 
ceeded by Prof. Edward Orton. The latter resigned at the 
end of the college year, to take the presidency of the Ohio 
Agricultural and Mechanical College, at Columbus. Since 
that time Prof. S. C. Derby has been the acting or temporary 
president. 

Since its last reorganization the college claims to be en- 
tirely unsectarian in character, and at this time, among its 
faculty and teachers are members of five different religious 
denominations. 

The whole number of graduates is 133, of whom 87 are 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 251 

gentlemen and 46 ladies. They have furnished from this 
number 12 ministers, 22 lawyers, 5 physicians, 4 editors, 
some presidents and professors in colleges, and a large num- 
ber of teachers. Of the ladies three are connected with col- 
lege instruction, two are physicians, and one is a preacher. 
The total productive endowment is $123,000, so invested 
as to yield an annual income of between $11,000 and $12,- 
000. Twenty thousand dollars of this fund Avere a bequest of 
Mrs. Sarah King, of Taunton, Mass. A prospective fund 
from a noble bequest by Hon. David Joy, of $40,000, to be 
devoted chiefly to women needing aid and to students of 
color, is reported. 

The library contains about 5,000 volumes. The depart- 
ment of i^hysics is well supplied with the most approved 
apparatus, and the chemical laboratory is also pretty well 
equipped. There is a telescope of 5 inch apperture, a pris- 
matic reflecting circle, chronometer, etc., for instruction in 
astronomy. 

The mineralogical and geological cabinets are sufficient 
for class illustration. 

The number of students given in the Report of the Com- 
missioner of Schools for 1875 is 70. Of these 34 are gentle- 
men and 36 ladies. The number of graduates in the same 
year was 4, two of each sex. 

The course of study is full and excellent. Thorough pre- 
paration for admission to the freshman class is required. 
This may be obtained in the preparatory department, which 
is needed here as at the other colleges of the State. 

Greek, both in the preparatory school and in college, is 
optional, but an equivalent is required. The study of Latin 
and Greek is not prescribed after the end of the sophomore 
year. 



252 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 



UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI. 

Mr. Charles McMicken, who died in 1857, gave by his will 
to the city of Cincinnati, property, then valued at $500,000, 
for the purpose of founding two colleges in Cincinnati, one 
for the education of young men and the other for women. 

After four years of litigation the property came into pos- 
session of the city in trust. In order to make the property 
productive it was necessary to make improvements upon it, 
which with annuities to be paid consumed the revenue. 
In 1870, the legislature passed an act, in general form, by 
which Cincinnati could establish a university and receive 
funds, etc., in trust for such a purpose, and in 1871 a board 
of trustees was selected, of which Hon. Rufus King was the 
President. This board consists of 19 persons appointed by 
the common council, six of whom shall be nominated by 
the board of education of the city. The term of office is 
six years. The care of the McMicken estate was transferred 
to this new university board. 

There has been established by the aid of the McMicken 
fund a School of Design and an Academic Department. To 
these have been added the Cincinnati Observatory. There 
are some special endowments of the School of Design and of 
the Observatory, but these are under the care of the trustees 
of the university. 

The Academic Department has already professorships of 
Mathematics, Astronomy and Civil Engineering ; of Physics 
and Chemistry ; of Ancient Languages and Comparative 
Philology, with instructors in the German and French lan- 
guages. Appointments have quite recently been made to 
fill two additional professorships— of Philosophy and His- 
tory, and of Modern Languages and Belles-lettres, and two 
others are in the process of formation. Instruction in this 
department is free to youth of either sex who are bona fide 
residents of Cincinnati. To other students the tuition is 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 253 

$60 per annum for the full course or $30 for a single study. 
As yet the studies are largely elective as shown by the fol- 
lowing list of the numbers pursuing the several studies : 

Latin 8 i Trigonometry 13 

Greek 11 Calculus 9 



German 22 

French 19 

Physics 16 



Descriptive Geometry 8 

Engineering 8 

Chemistry 22 



The whole number of students represented in the above 
list is 51, which were all in attendance at the close of 
December, 1875. 

The courses in Civil Engineering, Physics and Chemistry 
are full, and all needed apparatus, instruments and labora- 
tories have been provided. If to these could be added other 
thorough courses in science and technology, the university 
would meet a want long felt in the West. 

In the Fifth Annual Report of the Trustees, three dis- 
tinct courses are mentioned ; the Classical Avith the degree 
of Bachelor of Arts ; the Scientific with the degree of Bach- 
elor of Science, and the course in Civil Engineering with 
the degree of Civil Engineer. 

The School of Design has already reached a position of 
great usefulness and of no little popularity. The whole 
number of pupils enrolled in the year 1875 was 402, of whom 
242 were in classes in drawing and design, 133 in wood- 
carving and 27 in modeling. There is a teacher of drawing 
with three assistants, a teacher of wood-carving and another 
of modeling. It is the hope to add instruction in special 
studies both in the fine and useful arts, and thus to make the 
school one of the highest value. 

The Cincinnati Observatory with which the honored 
name of Prof. 0. M. Mitchel will ever be associated, is also 
under the care of the trustees of the university. The pres- 
ent Director is Ormond Stone, A. M. The instruments are 
of the first class and additional ones will be provided when 



254 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

needed. Instruction in astronomical work will be given to 
such as are fitted to receive it. 



The report of the Commissioner of Schools for 1875, gives 
in its list of Ohio Colleges several from which the Centen- 
nial Committee has received no historical sketches. These 
are Capital University, located at Columbus ; Urbana Uni- 
versity, Urbana ; One Study University, New Market Sta- 
tion, Harrison county; University of Wooster, Wooster; 
Buchtel College, Akron ; German Wallace College, Berea ; 
McCorkle College, Bloomfield, Muskingum county ; Mus- 
kingum College, New Concord, Muskingum count}^ ; Ohio 
Central College, Iberia, Morrow county ; Richmond College, 
Richmond, Jefferson county; Wilmington College, Wil- 
mington, and Xenia College, Xenia. 

Some reference is made to the German Wallace College 
in the account of Baldwin University. 

A catalogue of AVooster University has been received, from 
which it appears that in addition to the preparatory depart- 
ment, there are three college courses, viz : the Classical, 
Philosophical, and Scientific. In these are enrolled, respect- 
ively, 106, 15 and 22 students. To these are added 23 in 
jmrtial courses. The Philosophical is the regular classical 
course with the omission of Greek and with the addition of 
German ; the Scientific course adds German but omits both 
Latin and Greek. Attached to the university is a Medical 
Department located at Cleveland. 

The President of the university is Rev. A. A. E. Taylor, 
D. D. There are twenty-four trustees appointed by the 
four Ohio Synods of the Presbyterian Church. Four pro- 
fessorships have been endowed by the generous dona- 
tions of $25,000 each, from the following persons : B. J. 
Mercer, Esq., Mansfield; E. Quinby, Jun., Wooster; J. H. 
Kauke, Esq., Wooster, and W. D. Johnson, Esq., of Clifton. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 255 

The library contains 3,000 volumes. The cabinets, appar- 
atus, etc., are said to be ample for purposes of illustration. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

It is evident that Ohio has not only enough colleges and 
universities but more than enough. The whole number, as 
given by the U. S. Census Report for 1870, is thirty-three. 
The Ohio School Commissioner's Report for 1873 gives thirty- 
six. The reports for 1874 and 1875 give twenty-nine. There 
are doubtless some from which no returns have been received 
by the Commissioner. From 1803 to 1860, fourteen uni- 
versities and forty-two colleges were chartered. Quite a 
number have been chartered since. Possibly the whole 
number of births might be ascertained, but unfortunately 
for the statistician, the deaths are not reported. The mor- 
tality rate is large. Some die at a very young and tender 
age, others linger for years, so long indeed, that no interest 
is felt in their demise. 

In Ohio there is great looseness in the use of the term 
universitj^, and the proper distinction between the univer- 
sity and the college is seldom made. This distinction is 
thus given by President Mark Hopkins : 

" Of a university, the conception is not uniform either in this coun- 
try or abroad. In England, the university is a collection of colleges 
with endowments, partly for instruction and partly for investigation 
and the origination of knowledge ; and it is this last that is thought by 
some to be the special function of the university. Of this we have 
little or nothing in this country. In Germany, the university is a col- 
lection of learned men and of books for the instruction of men. It 
comprises professional schools, and also offers lectures and facilities of 
instruction in every branch of related knowledge, and of this last 
again we have nothing. In this country, a university is sometimes 
simply a college ; sometimes a college with one, or two, or perhaps 
three professional schools attached, and sometimes it is a mere huddle 
of studies, from the primary department up, perhaps to the college, 
perhaps to the professional schools. The underlying idea seems to be 
that of a great intellectual variety shop, where all may go, and stay as 
long as they please, and buy what they want, 



256 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

"From all these the college differs radically, and the American 
Christian college from all others. It is not a German gymnasium. It 
is broader. It is not an English college. It is more varied in its 
studies, and is open to all. Like our form of govornment it has shaped 
and is shaping itself to our wants. Its object is not to fit men for busi- 
ness. In thai it differs from institutions below it, and from professional 
schools. It has a prescribed course of study, regulates hours, enforces 
attendance, and proposes not merely intellectual culture, but also some 
care of morals, and of the formation of character. Its object is not 
simply knowledge, but wisdom. In all this it differs from the univer- 
sity. Its students are young men in the last stage of their progress to- 
wards free manhood, and it proposes to give them a liberal education. It 
is the only institution we have that represents that idea. Its object is 
the improvement of man as man. It is to discipline the mind sym- 
metrically and furnish it richly. ••■ * * * It would devise such 
a course of study and provide such teachers as would prevent the 
prevalent narrowness and one-sidedness. and the clashing that comes 
from sects and hobbies, and as would do the most that can be done in 
four years in forming young men at that stage to a comijlete sym- 
metrical manhood. This is the problem of the college." 

In Ohio we have colleges and nothing more. Some of 
these have a medical department attached, as Western Re" 
serve and Wooster. Several institutions have theological 
departments. Ohio and Miami Universities have never 
been anything than colleges. There are now besides these? 
eight other institutions named universities, mentioned in 
the Commissioner's Report, not including the Universit}^ of 
Cincinnati, now beginning to organize its special depart- 
ments. To these, the Report adds the names of nineteen 
colleges. This is by no means the whole number. Natural- 
ists tell us, that in descending from man, the head of the 
animal kingdom, through the gradations of animal forms, it 
is impossible to determine where animal life ends and vege- 
table life begins. So with Ohio institutions of learning. 
No one doubts the true character and value of the highest 
and best, for they are recognized and honored by learned 
people everywhere, but when we reach the border land, the 
" no mans land," between the college and the school, the 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 257 

power to distinguish appears to be lost and the puzzle be- 
comes a difficult one. The difficulty is all the greater because 
the problem is not to discern between a low type of a college 
and a high type of a school, but rather between very low 
types of each. Our best high schools know their limitations, 
and are too genuine and honest to assume to be what they 
are not. In the educational growth and progress of the 
State the institutions of doubtful classification must pass 
away. 

The State of Ohio, unlike some of the older States, exer- 
cises no supervision over higher educational interests, and 
does nothing to prevent the multiplication of colleges. The 
whole matter is as free as banking or the establishment of 
manufactories. 

The motives for the establishment of colleges are various. 
Many have originated in a simple desire to secure for the 
State higher learning and culture and make it possible for 
the sons of Ohio to obtain an education of the best kind at 
home. In institutions thus formed, moral and religious 
influences have always entered as an element deemed 
essential in the formation of character. Denominational- 
ism and sectarianism have had no place in them. 

Some colleges have originated in a desire to advance 
the interests of a denomination. This is a powerful mo- 
tive. While there are comparatively few who see the im- 
portance of higher learning for its own sake, the various 
churches are full of those who can readily see the import- 
ance of building up their denominations. This is in itself 
laudable, and often leads to noble sacrifices and large bene- 
factions. But there should be some limitation to this 
method of promoting education. True learning can not 
always be made to flow in narrow race-ways leading to de- 
nominational ■^vheels. It is something broad and universal 
in character. There is nothing in the mathematics, noth- 
ing in the classics, nor in natural and physical sciences, 



258 EDUCATION IN OHIO, 

nor in mental or moral philosophy, bearing upon questions 
of church order or of doctrine. " The undevout astronomer 
is mad," but not more mad than the devout one who should 
attempt to make the stars teach Presbyterianism or .Episco- 
pacy, or baptismal regeneration. The usual college text- 
books contain no denominational tenets. Such text-books 
could not well be written, for there is an imperative sense 
of the fitness of things to restrain authors from intro- 
ducing sectarian notions, and it would be just as impossible 
for such authors, as college teachers, to urge in the class-room 
what they would not publish in text-books. So incongruous 
is denominational instruction in a college, that most col- 
leges, even those under ecclesiastical control, disavow every 
trace of sectarianism. 

St. Xavier College, under the auspices of the Society of 
Jesus, says in its Historical Sketch, " They never tamper with 
the religious belief of any student, and studiously avoid in- 
fluencing him in any way, except by the example of a good 
life." Heidelberg College, whose trustees are elected by the 
Sjaiod of Ohio of the Reformed Church of the United Sates, 
declares that "no sectarian instruction is required or given." 
Denison University " managed and controlled by 36 trustees 
to be chosen exclusively from members in good standing 
and full membership in regular Baptist churches in the 
State of Ohio, who shall hold their offices only so long they 
retain such membership," says in its Historical Sketch that 
the " university is not sectarian and does not teach denomi- 
national dogmas." The University of Wooster, one of the 
youngest of the institutions of the State, devotes the whole 
of the second page of its catalogue of 1874 to the following 
announcement : " The University of Wooster, founded, 
owned, and controlled by the Ohio Synods of the Presbyte- 
rian Church of the United States of America, its aim to 
secure the highest form and grade of literary, scientific, and 
Christian education, through trained, experienced, and 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 259 

thorough teachers under constant and positive religious 
l)rinciples and influences, without sectarianism or restric- 
tion of freedom of opinion." 

The Ohio Wesleyan University, controlled by four Ohio 
conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church, by which 
four-fifths of the trustees are elected — the Alumni electing 
the other one-fifth — declares in its Historical Sketch that 
" the objects of the institution are not in the least sectarian. 
It aims, however, to give a full, healthy, moral and Chris- 
tian education. It has had members of all denominations 
among its students ; it has graduated Roman Catholics. It 
lias not a single Methodist book in its course as a text-book. 
Chapel worship is held every morning, consisting of Scrip- 
ture reading, singing and prayer. The teachers are gener- 
ally Methodists, though there have been among them Pres- 
])yterians and Quakers." 

As a rule, all the colleges of the State disavow sectarian- 
ism, and make such disavowal the basis of an invitation to 
students of all religious faiths to come to them. Such an 
invitation, given in all honor and good faith as we must be- 
lieve, utterly precludes- the possibility of manipulating the 
legitimate college influences for the special advantage of a 
sect. All, or nearly all the colleges of the State claim to 
exert a healthful religious influence, an influence all the 
purer and better from being unmiixed with sectarianism. 

With these facts admitted, it is unfortunate that there 
are in Ohio so many colleges of denominational origin, 
when with a broader view of the subject of higher learn- 
ing, combinations could have been effected, which without 
any sacrifice of religious influence, would have given us in- 
stitutions of greater strength and dignity and of ampler 
facilities for affording a broad and generous culture. The 
denomhiational name, which, as the colleges themselves ac- 
knowledge, can never be legitimately stamped upon a stu- 
dent as such, and is not to be found in text-book nor upon 



260 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the walls of lecture-room or chapel, appears to be retained 
by some at least, only as a name to conjure with among the 
churches for the purpose of securing money and students. 
This entire misconception of the true function of the col- 
lege has led to such a multiplication of colleges in Ohio 
that all are hindered and many are dwarfed. There are not 
men enough of eminent and finished scholarship to fill all 
the 245 professorships.* These men are generally poorly 
paid and are overworked. The circumstances surrounding 
them are depressing, and those who may have an ambition 
for high achievement, generally iind themselves so strait- 
ened for the want of large libraries or scientific equipment 
that they become despondent. There are of course many 
exceptions to this in men who keep themselves fully up to 
the progress of the age in literature and science. 

Another effect of multiplying colleges has been a compe- 
tition productive of friction and irritation, and sometimes 
leading to a resort to methods incompatible with the Avis- 
dom and dignity which should characterise institutions de- 
voted to high learning. Scholarships at absurdly low rates 
have been sold whenever persons could be found willing to 
bu3^ This has diminished the regular and legitimate 
revenue from tuition, and professors have been insufficiently 
paid. Of course the intelligent people of the State will place 
little value upon that which the colleges themselves hold so 
cheaply. This competition has sometimes led to the lower- 
ing of literary standards, and students are admitted to some 
colleges with very slight preparation. The distinction be- 
tween the college and the grammar school is often not a 
little blurred. Rigid classiiieation is not always observed, 
iind students are admitted into some colleges as into a great 
pasture, to graze where they please and, perhaps, as much or 
as little as they please. Few, comparatively, complete the 



-'Statistical Report of the Secretary of State, 1873, gives 30 colleges and universities and 
245 member-s of JTacuMes and .110 iDstructacg. 



HIGHER EDUCATION. 261 

full course of study. By the report of the Commissioner of 
Schools for 1875, it appears that the whole number of reg- 
ular college students reported is 3063 and the whole number 
of reported graduates is 357, or 11 per cent. 

It is true that some of the best colleges of the State have 
been small and have graduated small classes. They have 
been contented to be small and genuine, preferring this to 
volume where volume might show inflation or adulteration. 
Such colleges should be made larger, they deserve to be. 
Having been faithful in a few things, they should be given 
rule over many things. 

There is no good reason why the young men of Ohio 
should leave the State to secure a thorough liberal educa- 
tion. Such an education can be obtained at home at less 
expense and with less danger to morals. Cases are not 
wanting where our young men, who have been sent to some 
of the older colleges of the East, have returned with deeply 
rooted prejudices against all Western institutions without 
discrimination, and by their influence have done much to 
prevent our educational progress ; in this, presenting a 
marked contrast with many natives of the East, graduates 
of eastern colleges, who, on making new homes for them- 
selves in Ohio, desire to make the State of their adoption as 
great in its educational, as it is in material development. 
If colleges in Ohio need endowment or equipment of any 
kind, it is the duty of the citizens of the State to supply 
it. The public free schools of Ohio are among the best 
of the land, made so at an annual cost to the people of over 
eight millions of dollars. There is no reason why our peo- 
ple should not make its colleges strong and great. They 
need more generous endowment and the means of employ- 
ing professors of the highest culture and attainments, and 
of furnishing them with every facility for study and in- 
struction. Such endowments will come. They are already 
beginning to come, and many of the colleges can now grate- 



262 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

fully point to names of noble benefactors. Some of these 
colleges were wisely planted and under careful nurture have 
already become firmly rooted. We may confidently believe 
that in the second Centennial year of the Republic it will 
be found that these institutions have been generously cared 
for and have become centers of wide influence for the ad- 
vancement and elevation of the Nation. 



CHAPTER IV. 

NORMAL SCHOOLS. 

The State of Ohio has, from its earliest history, been 
second to none in advanced ideas upon education, and in 
the zeal and well-directed activity of its large body of leading 
teachers and school officers. 

As early as the year 1817, before Connecticut or Massachu- 
setts began to agitate the question of State Normal Schools, 
Gov. Worthington, of Ohio, opened his message to the Gen- 
eral Assembly by the recommendation to establish a thorough 
system of elementary education. In order to render such a 
system efficient, he argues that teachers must be employed 
"whose moral character and other qualifications fit them to 
enlighten the minds and to shape the morals of the rising 
generation. If we expect in our youth ' religion, morality, 
and knowledge,' suitable teachers must be employed to pro- 
duce this effect." He then makes the following recommend- 
ation for the' establishment of a State Normal School, which 
was probably the first official recnmmendation of the kind made 
in the country : 

" AVith a view to effecting this desirable object, I recommend to the 
consideration of the General Assembly the propriety of establishing, 
at the seat of government, a free school, at which shall be taught the 
different branches of an English education, at the expense of the 
State, to such number of boys, the children of parents unable to edu- 
cate them, and no others, as the Legislature may deem jiroper ; that 
whenever young men thus educated shall become qualified for that 
purpose, they shall, when proper salarfes are furnished them, have the 
preference of employment in the public schools of the State, and shall 



264 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

be obliged to serve as teachers of schools until thej^ are twenty-one 
years of age ; and afterward, so long as they conduct themselves well, 
shall have the preference of employment." 

Although these recommendations of the Governor were 
not carried into effect by the General Assembly, they quick- 
ened thought and provoked discussion. During the succeed- 
ing twenty years the interests of the common school system 
were the special care of the State. Early in the year 1836, 
the General Assembly of Ohio passed a resolution to the 
effect that Calvin E. Stowe, then professor in Lane Seminary, 
Cincinnati, "be requested to collect, during his tour in Eu- 
rope, such facts and information as he may deem useful to 
the State, in relation to the various systems of public 
instruction and education which have been adopted in the 
various countries through which he may pass, and make 
report thereof, with such practical observations as he may 
think proper, to the next General Assembly." 

A very elaborate report was made by Prof. Stowe, under 
date of December 18, 1837. Under the head of Normal 
Schools, he recommends : 

"First: The science and art of teaching should be made a regular 
branch of study in some of the academies and high schools. 

" Second : In popiilous towns there should be large model schools, 
tinder the care of the most able and experienced teachers that can be 
olitained ; and the candidates for the profession, who have already 
completed the theoretic course at the academies, should be employed in 
this school as monitors or assistants, thus testing all their theories by 
practice, and acquiring skill and dexterity under the guidance of their 
head masters. While learning they would be teaching, and no time 
or effort would be lost. 

"Third : To give efficiency to the whole system, to present a general 
standard, and a prominent point of union, there should be at least one 
model teachers' seminary at some central point — as at Columbus — 
which should be amply provided with all the means of study and in- 
struction, and have connected with it schools of every grade, for the 
practice of the students under the immediate superintendence of their 
teachers." 

The recommendation of Prof. Stowe suggested the plan of 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 265 

opening the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary at Kirt- 
land, Lake county, in 1838. This excellent normal school 
was under the management of Dr. Asa D. Lord for eight 
years from the spring of 1839, and sent out a large number 
of teachers into the better class of schools in Ohio and else- 
Avhere. Its influence remains to this day in the professional 
career of some of the prominent educators of the State. 

In the year 1837, the office of State Superintendent of 
Common Schools was created, and Samuel Lewis was elected 
to its duties, which he discharged for the following three 
years. No educator, not even Horace Mann himself, to whom 
Massachusetts is indebted for her normal schools, ever felt 
more deeply the necessity for a body of trained teachers for 
the schools than did Samuel Lewis. He believed it to be 
the duty of the State to provide suitable instruction for those 
who were to have the care of its youth. His superior devo- 
tion to the educational interests of the State, and his 
acknowledged wisdom, procured for him the distinction of 
being the subject of the following resolution, passed b}- the 
General Assembly of Ohio, March 19, 1838. 

" Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the Superin- 
tendent of Common Schools be, and he hereby is requested to report 
to the next General Assembly : 

" I. Upon the expediency of establishing a State university or imi- 
versities, for the education of teachers and other students. 

" II. If he shall deem it expedient to establish such university or 
imiversities, then upon the subjects of the proper system therefor, and 
the proper location thereof. 

" III. Also, upon the proper mode of supporting the same, the proba- 
ble expense thereof to the State, and such other views and information 
in relation to the subject generally, as he may deem it proper to com- 
municate." 

In compliance with this resolution, Mr. Lewis made a 
most valuable report, February, 1839, in which he considers 
the resolution as embracing two distinct propositions, viz. ; 
the establishment of a university for "teachers," and a uni- 

18 



266 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

versity for "other students." Under the former of these 
propositions, he considers the following questions : 

"1. Is there a deficiency in the number of teachers in our State ? 

"2. Are there any defects in the qualifications of tliose now filling 
the place of teachers ? 

" 3. What are these defects ? 

" 4. What measures are now adopted to supply a jjroper number of 
teachers of sufficient qualifications, and how far will such means sup- 
ply the demand ? 

" 5. What additional measures are required and will a state institu- 
tion be the best means to effect the object ? " 

The following extracts are made from the discussion of 
the last question : 

" It may now be considered a settled question that there is some- 
thing peculiar in the art of governing and teaching a school, which 
may be taught or learned as any other art or profession. There are, to 
be sure, many excellent self-made teachers, who Viave become so by 
long experience and labor, as there are many self-made men who are 
eminent in all the professions, and in neither case can it be pretend- 
ed that the success of one man, without superior advantages, would 
justify us in abolishing those institutions which are intended to aid 
students in such professions, or that because a few succeed in spite of 
their disadvantages, therefore all men can do so. If one man has 
learned to govern a large school with very little corporal punishment, 
he can teach another with ordinary capacity the same art. If one man 
has learned how to adapt his instructions to the great variety of minds 
presented in the school-room, he can teach others to do so. If he has 
learned a mode of approaching each mind, in such a manner as to 
wake it up and secure at once a love of himself and the study ; if he 
has found the art of making children reason at an early age ; these, as 
M^ell as all other important acquisitions in the business of teaching, can 
be imparted to others of ordinary capacity. Heretofore teachers have 
all acted without associated effort, each sought his own and no other 
interest, his experience died with him, and no record was preserved 
of improvements, as in other professions. To this cause may be 
attributed the lack of improvement in a i^rofession so important to all 
our interests, individually and collectively. 

" With the experience of other nations and other states, as well as 
the success which has attended individual experiments in our own 
State before me, I have made up my mind, that with teachers educated 
for the business, sufficient to supply all the districts in our State, we 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 267 

should, with the same money that is now expended, secure to our 
chihh-en an education far exceeding in amount, and far superior in 
quality to what is generally furnished. The advantages of associated 
l)ower are felt in every other department, and may also be felt in this. 
That the interest of the people demands some provision for the pre- 
paration of teachers, I have no doubt ; but what shall be the specific 
plan ultimately to be adopted by the Legislature, is a matter much 
more difficult to decide. 

" One plan is, to have county seminaries, by appropriating to each 
county a certain amount of money, on condition that the counties 
would severally add an equal sum or any other proportion, and thus 
furnish a central high school for this purpose in each county under 
such regulations as may l)e prescribed. 

" Another plan is, to divide the State into some eighteen or twenty 
eilucational districts, and establish a normal school at some central 
point in each district, 

" Another plan proposes to appropriate certain sums of money to 
each of the different colleges that will undertake to organize in their 
institutions a teachers' department, and instruct a certain number of 
persons as teachers of common schools. 

" A fourth plan is, to make a commencement bj^ establishing at Co- 
lumbus one normal or model school for the preparation of teachers. 

" An experiment may be made here with very little exiDcnse, and un- 
til the experiment is made, it may not be prudent to expend a large sum 
for buildings or otherwise. Buildings for the present could be rented, or 
what would be better, as the city of Columbus is about to erect large 
school-houses, it would, no doubt, willingly allow the State to use three 
or four rooms for the teachers' school. As the students would all be 
teachers, they could, without additional expense, instruct all the youth 
in the city according to the most apj^roved system. Indeed, a normal 
school can not successfully be established, unless it be in connection 
with schools of the different grades from primary schools up to those 
esteemed the highest If some plan like this should be adopted, it 
would require not more than three professors, until the success attend- 
ing the enterprise shoidd induce an extension of the work. The stu- 
dents attending should all be admitted free of tuition charge, and the 
lienefits made equal. Each county should be entitled to send one at 
least. A difficulty is presented in providing boarding and other ex- 
penses. But few of those who are to become school teachers have the 
means of paying heavy charges, even if the tuition is gratuitous, nor 
is the inducement to become a teacher at present so great as to justify 
very heavy expenses for this purpose. Females would probably form 
a large number of the students for teachers, if they had the means for 
support while attending. Under these circumstances it would certain- 



268 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ly be well to make provision for hoarding, sa}- one student from each 
county, whenever the Legislature should feel authorized to appropriate 
as much money as should effect such a purpose ; but this could not 
probably be clone until one or two years experience convinced the 
people generally of the great advantage resulting to them from such a 
course. In the mean time, an appropriation of five thousand dollars 
per year would purchase the apparatus and employ three professors. 
This would be sufficient to secure instruction to at least one hundred 
students. 

"The only real objection that can be anticipated is in the expense, 
and possibly the appi'ehension that the people would not sanction such 
an outlay ; but whatever doubt may exist as to the university, it is 
scarcely possible that there should be any here. The cry of poor 
teachers is universal, and in some places teachers can not be had of any 
ciualitication. This want is sensibly felt by the people, and if there is 
any reasonable assurance that the proposed measure would supply the 
deficiency, or contribute to such a result, surely it would be approved 
of. However much the citizens of the State may complain of expen- 
ses incurred for purposes not general in their benefits, they have never 
complained of such expenditures as evidently carry with them corres- 
ponding advantages to the whole people ; and if the advantages of an 
institution for the improvement of common school teachers can be 
made to appear beneficial to the cause of general education, it would be 
an unjust reflection upon the intelligence and public spirit of the 
people, to anticipate their objections to it. * * * "'•■ 

" It is proper that one objection should be anticipated and answered. 
It may be said that if there are a thousand teachers required, and the 
Avant still increasing, the estaljlishment of normal schools will fall too 
far short of supplying the demand to justify the expense. We answer 
that the benefit of these schools will not be limited to the number 
directly taught in them. The instruction of some eighty or one hun- 
dred teachers, if confined in fact to the furnishing of that number, 
would render the expediency of the measure doubtful ; but it should 
be recollected that every one Avho shall go out from this institution, 
will go prepared to teach on the same plan, and his or her pupils will, 
to a greater or less extent, acquire the same knowledge. Each teacher 
thus instructed will be competent to take charge of a similar institution 
Avhether of a private or public character. But all this will not be the 
great advantage ; the moral influence of such a model school will be 
felt by thousands who will never enter the walls. When a standard of 
this kind is erected and sustained, it will be looked to from every 
board of township and county examiners in the State ; enterprising 
young teachers will aspire to reach, if not to excel, the perfection of the 
model, and thus, in a short time, very great improvement will be seen 
everywhere. * "■'• * * 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 269 

"The decision of the people of this State through the Legislature, on 
the best mode of supplying good teachers of common schools, is looked 
to with the utmost anxiety by the friends of popular education in 
other states, as well as our own. Education, after having been confined 
to a comparatively small number for many hundred years, has been 
gradually spreading its influence and increasing its votaries for some 
years past, until it has in our State visited every dwelling, frona the 
most splendid building to the humblest cottage; and just in pro- 
portion as civil liberty extends an influence, has the love of learn- 
ing manifested itself. Liberty and general intelligence are ' twins tied 
by nature; if they part, they die.' As a people, we all know this, and 
it is thought that all are anxious to have such measures adopted as will 
secure the best teachers for our children. We are no longer willing to 
employ a teacher who does not know much, merely because our chil- 
dren do not know much. •■■ * ® * 

" The decision of this subject has to do Avith the best interests of that 
great body of peojile who can not hope by wealth to exert much influ- 
ence in society, — whose only hope is in their mental and moral 
influence. Eight hundred thoiisand children call on the fathers of the 
present day to place in their hands the power that well-directed learn- 
ing gives. Their fathers and mothers are ready to be their surety, that 
if they can be furnished with this intellectual and moral armor, they 
will, while we live, and following our example when we die, aid in 
carrying forward the great works connected alike with the happiness 
and glory of our country." 

In 1840, after three years of service, Mr. Lewis resigned ; 
the office of Superintendent of Schools was abolished, and 
its duties transferred to the Secretary of State. William 
Trevitt, the Secretary of State upon whom these duties first 
devolved, in his report made January, 1841, takes up the 
recommendation of Mr. Lewis, and urges upon the atten- 
tion of the General Assembly the necessity for some im» 
mediate legislation providing for the special education of 
teachers. The following is an abstract of this valuable re- 
port upon this subject : 

" Many of the older and more wealthy states,* have established sev- 

-Tt is not certain to w}iat Mr. Trevitt referred in this passage. Massachusetts was the 
only state which had a State ISformal School at this date. She, through the almost super- 
liuman efforts of Horace Mann, had had one in operation at Lexington— now the Fram, 
ingham school— for eighteen months ; one at Barre— nowthe Westfield school— for sixteen 
months, and one at Bridgewater for four irionths. New York was the uej^t to opep ^ State 
Nornjal School, which she did not (\q till l^H, 



270 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

eral teachers' seminaries, usually called normal schools, which are 
said to have produced the most beneficial results. The establishment 
of these seminaries is the only efi'ectual means for extending the 
knowledge of the art of teaching, and placing this department of pub- 
lic instruction on that elevated ground that its vast importance de- 
mands. 

"The delicate and responsible task of, cultivating the human in- 
tellect is of the deepest importance to the State, therefore our teachers 
should have at lea'st as good qualifications as those of any other pro- 
fession ; for, ' whatever may be the inherent vigor of the plant, it can 
never become flourishing and fruitful till it meets with a suitable soil 
and culture.' The establishment of these institutions is a subject, in 
my humble opinion, entitled to the serious consideration of the Legis- 
lature, as well as of the friends of education throughout the State. 
Without comiaetent teachers, good schools cannot be expected, and 
without adequate provision, we can never expect a sufficient number 
of well qualified teachers for the wants of this great and growing State. 

'•This subject is, by no means, new ; the late indefatigable Superin- 
tendent of Common Schools, Samuel Lewis, Esq., two years ago, urged 
upon the Legislature the propriety of establishing ' model schools.' 
Another distinguished gentleman (Prof. Stowe) called the attention of 
the Legislature to the importance of the subject in 1837 ; but as no 
action was had upon it from their recommendation, it is fair to pre- 
sume that the Legislature felt averse to the project, at least at that time. 

" All will agree that it is impolitic to increase the number of our in- 
stitutions of learning beyond our means of support, and that we al- 
ready have a number commensurate with our wants can not for a 
moment be doubted. This being the case, might not some of those 
now in existence have a teachers' department connected with them, 
as one branch of instruction, without detriment to the institution ? It 
strikes me, that the above or some other plan for accomplishing this 
desirable object is worthy of attention." 

Here follows a quotation from the rej^ort of the Board of 
Commissioners of Common Schools for the State of Con- 
necticut, for the year 1840, in which it is declared impossi- 
ble to make " an adequate provision for the supply of the 
requisite number of teachers, who shall be at once capable 
of teaching in the best manner all that the pupils of our 
common schools are capable of learning, and of conducting 
the order and government of their institutions according to 
the most approved methods, without the establishment of 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 271 

normal schools devoted exclusively to the education of 
teachers in the principles and practice of their profession, 
and guided hy men eminent for their talents and practical 
wisdom." 

This is followed b}' the suggestion that if the State is not 
now i^repared to erect and sustain seminaries of this ele- 
vated character, the work might be introduced by opening 
teachers' departments in the various seminaries of the State. 

Reference is made to the success of the State Normal 
Schools recently opened in the State of Massachusetts, and 
further quotations are made from the Secretary of the Board 
of Commissioners of Common Schools of Connecticut, com- 
mending the use of the academies of the State for teach- 
ers' classes as a temporary expedient for the education of 
teachers. 

The policy of the State of New York is also referred to. 
" In sixteen of these academies, departments for the educa- 
tion of teachers were organized, to which 490 students re- 
sorted for special instruction in the science and art of teach- 
ing, in 1839." 

Mr. Trevitt was succeeded by Mr. Sloane, during whose 
administration of three years whatever of practical convic- 
tion or enthusiasm for normal schools had been developed 
by the earnest labors of his predecessors, was dissipated. 
He opens his school rejDort for the 3-ear 1841, with the flat- 
tering statement that, " We have now at our command 
everything necessary to the entire success of the system, 
and if it fails, it must be for the lack of wisdom and cour- 
age." In his meager reports for the following years, 1842-3, 
he asks for nothing for teachers, but tells us that, " Much 
less inconvenience will result from a few 3'ears submission 
to even an imperfect system, than from too frequent changes 
adopted without the sanction of experience." 

The successor of Mr. Sloane, Samuel GalloAvay, in his 
school reports for the years 1844-5-6, while he cleijlores the 



272 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

lack of preparation on the part of teachers, both as to liter- 
ary and professional acquirements, gives the preference, as a 
remedy for the evil, to "more rigid examinations for teachers' 
certificates, teachers' institutes and associations, and a teach- 
ers' journal." He also recommends the opening of special 
dejiartmcnts in the colleges and universities of the State 
for the education of teachers. In the report of 1846, he says : 

"The most approved and efficient plan for c4evating the profession 
of teachers is the establishment of normal schools. This is an institu- 
fution which characterizes advanced educational effort and improve- 
ment, and can only vigorously thrive in popular governments, where 
abundant means and a high degree of general intelligence prevail. 
When subordinate and more necessary agencies have succeeded in incul- 
cating upon the public mind enlarged and correct views of the nature 
and benefits of full intellectual and moral cultivation, then this higher 
instrumentality may be added, and it will become a similarly appro- 
priate relation to a highly improved system of education that the 
locomotive and steamship do to the extended business, enterprise, and 
resources of a high state of civilization. It is unnecessary to discuss 
the utility of seminaries for teachers, or to indulge enthusiasm by a 
description of the advantages bestowed upon public schools in Prussia, 
Holland, Switzerland, or other lands where the experiment has been 
fully tested. We are not ready, pecuniarily or intellectualh', for their 
adoption. The most practicable and economical mode of securing these 
l)enefits, in a limited degree, would be to provide a special department 
in our colleges and higher institutions of learning for the education of 
teachers. It would certainly be a commendable measure if those who 
pi'eside over our State universities would organize such departments, 
and present inducements to indigent but worthy men to qualify them- 
selves as teachers. A measure of this kind, vigorously and liberally 
prosecuted, would return, in a few years, a manifold remuneration for 
the patronage bestowed." 

The following year he is emphatic in his recommendation 
of teachers' institutes, but makes no reference to a normal 
school. In his report for the year 1848, however, he puts 
himself unmistakably upon the side of normal schools. 
Under this head he writes : 

"This is a topic connected with common school education which 
merits attention and consideration. Those institutions exist wherever 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 273 

l)opular education has attained an elevated position, and to their infiu- 
■^enee may its progress to a great degree be attributed. Tlieir necessity 
and utility are alike shown by the judgment and observation of the 
wise, by the experience of practical educators, and l^y alignment based 
upon the character and effect of such institutions. Cousin, in his 
report upon the state of education in Holland, says : * I attach the 
greatest importance to normal primary schools, and consider that all 
future success in the education of the people depends upon them.' 
Prof. Bache, a gentleman distinguished for his attainments and expe- 
rience in the subject of education, in his report on education in Europe, 
remarks : ' When education is to be rapidly advanced, seminaries for 
teachers afford the means for securing this result.' The plan has been 
adopted and is yielding its appropriate fruits in HoUandi, Switzerland, 
France, and Saxony, while in Austria, where the methods of preparing 
teachers by their attendance on the primary schools is still adhered to, 
the schools are stationary. Similar testimony afforded by Hon. Horace 
Mann, Prof. Stowe, and the superintendents of schools in many of the 
States, might be adduceci 

" All who have tested these schools by an active participation in their 
management, and by a full experience of their inftuence and results, 
earnestly recommend their adoption. They assert that an adequate 
supply of competent teachers could not be obtained' until this mode of 
preparing them for the otfLce had been secured. This expei'ience is 
wliat might have been anticipated. Individuals do not successfully 
and reputably pursue other vocations without previous study, discipline, 
and careful preparation, and why should the business of teaching be 
an exception to the genenil rule which oljtams in other em/ploy- 
ments. * * •■■ •■■ 

"It is also obvious that a generously patronized and energetically 
conducted normal school, located at the seat of government, would 
T)ecome a standard and model of education throughout the State, and 
give dignity and influence to • the profession of teaching. A few well 
qualified graduates of such an-^institution,, alive with the spLi-it and 
adorned with the full attainnients of their vocation, as 'leaven leavens 
tlie whole lump,' would soon impart their energy to multitudes of the 
same calling. A few men in any- profession may happily determine its 
character for centuries. •■■" * * 

"It is manifest that the requisite capability to teach successfully caa 
not be full J' attained unless the candidate can secure the lessons and 
example of men of wisdom and expei'ience in matters of education. 

"This important aid mtiy be partially obtained in teachers-' insti- 
tutes and other associations of a similar kind, but it cannot be fully 
realized except in permanent institations, liberally endowed, and con- 
trolled by men possessing the highest attainments in the theory and 



274 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

practice of teaching. In view of the utility of normal schools, as 
evidenced by the unanimous recommendation of all who have wit- 
nessed their operations and results — in view of their intimate and 
indispensable connection with the consummation of the highest de- 
signs of popular education, and especially in view of present necessi- 
ties, which demand an immediate supply of competent teachers, the 
establishment of a central normal school by legislative appropriation is 
urgently recoiBmended for your attentive consideration." 

Mr. Galloway Avas succeeded as Secretary of State by 
Henry W. King. Nine years had elapsed since the report 
of Mr. Trevitt, and still there was no State Normal School, 
and reall}'- less prospect of one than ten years before. Mr. 
King in his report for 1851, after acknowledging the value 
of the labors of the State Teachers' Association, through the 
Chairman of their Executive Committee, Lorin Andrews, 
Avho had been acting the greater part of the year as their 
State agent, and through their normal classes, and the ser- 
vice to education rendered by the teachers' institutes, adds : 

"Should this [the teachers' institute] prove insufficient, as it proba- 
l)ly will, to furnish a hetter class of teachers as rapidly as the increasing 
demands of the State require, it may be necessary, eventually, to resort 
to the aid of nonnal schools, such as have been established in some of 
the other states, for the express purpose of providing for this want 
which has been felt elsewhere as well as here. ■■■ *■ •■■ * Certainly 
no good reasons can be given why schools should not be establish e<l 
for the professional education of teachers. * * •■■" * It is respect- 
fully suggested that ample provision should be made for the eventual 
establishment of such a number of normal schools as time and the 
further progress of our school system shall seem to demand." 

At a meeting of the State Teachers' Association held in 
Springfield in the summer of 1850, this body passed a reso 
lution to the effect that the State should provide for a nor- 
mal school and a State Superintendent of Common Schools. 
An act was passed by the General Assembly March 14, 1853, 
organizing a separate school department, and creating the 
office of State Commissioner of Common Schools. Hon. H. 
H. Barney was the first incumbent of this office, entering 
upon his duties in 1854. But no official action gave any 
promise of legislation for a normal school. 



NOKMAL SCHOOLS. 275 

The leading teachers of the State felt that some steps 
■ must be taken towards the establishment of such a school, 
and at a meeting of the Ohio Teachers' Association, held 
July, 1854, Dr. A. D. Lord, Chairman of the Executive Com- 
mittee, presented a rejjort in which he advised the establish- 
ment of a normal school under the auspices of the Associa- 
tion. Much discussion was provoked, the members disagree- 
ing as to whether the duty of the education of teachers 
belonged to the State or to the Teachers' Association, or 
Avhether it should not be left entirely to private enterprise. 

As the result of this discussion the following resolutions 
were adopted : 

Resolved, That the Executive Committee be instructed to report at 
our next annual meeting, a definite jilan for a normal school under the 
auspices of this Association. 

Resolved. That said committee be authorized to take such action as it 
may deem proper for the purpose of determining the practicability of 
raising funds for the establishment of such normal school. 

The first resolution was presented by Lorin Andrews ; the 
second, by Rev. J. M. Trimble. 

At the following meeting of the Association, held in Cin- 
cinnati, December, 1854, Lorin Andrews submitted a report 
strongly urging action, but suggesting no plan. He stated 
to the Association that Cyrus McNeely of Hopedale, Harri- 
son county, would give grounds and buildings to the value 
of $10,000 for normal school purposes if the Association would 
accept them and sustain a school there. A discussion fol- 
lowed which resulted in a reference of the proposition to 
the Finance Committee with instructions to entertain any 
other propositions that might be made, and to report at the 
next meeting. 

At the next meeting, held in Cleveland, August, 1855, 
upon motion of W. G. Williams, of Delaware, a committee of 
eleven was appointed to take jjossession of the McNeely 
property on behalf of the Association. This committee con- 
sisted of Dr. A. D. Lord, Lorin Andrews, M. D. Leggett, M, 



276 EDUCATION IN OHIO, 

F. Cowdery, Geo. K. Jenkins, John Hancock, Cyrus Mc- 
Neely, James Taggart, Samuel Paul, John M. Black, and 
Edwin Regal. 

The property was accordingly transferred to the Associa- 
tion at a valuation of $11,600, on condition that the Asso- 
ciation pledge itself to raise $10,000 for the support of 
the school. The school was opened in the autumn of 
1855, with John Ogden, of Delaware, as Principal. The 
Teachers' Association made praiseworthy efforts to raise the 
sum it Avas pledged to furnish, but failed to do so, and Mr. 
McNeely generously withdrew the condition, and gave a 
title free of all conditions save that the property should be 
devoted to no other than school purposes. 

The Association soon found itself unable to meet the run- 
ning expenses of the school, and December 30, 1857, at an 
annual meeting held in Columbus, Eli T. Tappan introduced 
a resolution, ''That the General Assembly be memoralized 
upon the need and propriety of making the McNeely Normal 
School a state institution." The resolution was adopted, 
and in response to this memorial, Mr. Canfield, Senator from 
Medina count}^, presented a bill, February 15, 1858, requiring : 

" 1. That there be established and organized, as soon as practicable, an 
institution for the training and education of common school teachers, 
to be denominated 'The Ohio Normal School.' 2. That the Governor, 
by and with the consent of the Senate, appoint immediately after the 
passage of this act, five trustees to whom shall be intrusted the man- 
agement and control of said institution. 3. That said trustees take 
possession of the McNeely Normal School property at Hopedale, and 
locate the said institution thereon, and cause such accommodations to 
be made and such buildings to be erected as shall be necessary ; and 
to defray the expenses incurred the sum of ten thousand dollars be 
appropriated." 

The bill, after having been read a second time, was con- 
sidered in committee of the whole. On February 23, on 
motion of Mr. Canfield, the bill was referred to the Committee 
on Schools and School Lands, with instructions to report, after 



NOEMAL SCHOOLS, 277 

a personal examination, the value of the property, its adapta- 
tion to the purposes of a normal school, the character of the 
location, and all other matters the committee should deem 
important. On March 31, Mr. Canfield made his report, 
signed by all the members of the committee. After a de- 
scription of the property he says : 

" Whatever may be the final action of the Legislature upon this sub- 
ject, the liberality of Mr. MoNeely in so worthy a cause can not be too 
highly commended. Whether the donation so generously proffered 
shall be received, and the expenses of the school be incurred by the 
State, is a question which the committee prefer to refer to the consid- 
eration of the Senate, rather than to express any recommendation of 
its own. 

" Upon the subject of normal schools generally your committee has 
but one opinion. The efiiciency of our common schools is dependent 
ui:)on the character and qualifications of the teachers. The impoi-tance 
of accomplished teachers is so great that we believe it to the interest 
of the State, as well as its duty, to provide all reasonable facilities 
for accomplishing that object as rapidly as is consistent with true 
economy." 

The bill was reported back to the Senate, and on motion, 
postjDoned till the first Monday in January, 1859. It was 
never called up, but on January 4, 1859, Mr. Dawes, of Mor- 
gan county, introduced into the House a bill to i^rovide for 
the establishment of normal schools in each of the several 
congressional districts of the State, whenever a majority of 
the electors of any such district should vote for such a 
school. This bill having passed a second reading was re- 
ferred to the Committee on Common Schools, which never 
reported upon it. 

The Teachers' Association, finding it could hoj^e for no 
immediate aid from the State, and being unable to carry the 
financial burden of their school, employed a principal upon 
condition that he should have the entire management of 
the school, which render it self-supporting. This was the 
relation which the McNeely Normal School essentially held 
to the Teachers' Association until July, 1875, when the 
board of trustees agreed to transfer their claim to the prop- 



278 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

erty to any responsible ipavtj that would take possession of 
it for school purposes and relieve the Association from all 
legal claims for indebtedness thereon. 

At a meeting of the Ohio Teachers' Association, held 
December, 1855, a resolution was passed calling for the 
appointment of a committee of five to draft a petition to 
the Legislature in behalf of normal schools. The following 
day, Alfred Holbrook, Principal of the South-western Ohio 
State Normal School, reported a petition soliciting the Gen- 
eral Assembly to divide the State into four normal school 
districts, and to enact that a normal school having been 
established in an}^ one of these districts by an incorporated 
bod 3^ of teachers, with property suitable for school purposes, 
as determined by the State Commissioner of Common 
Schools, the Legislature should appropriate to each such 
school the annual sum of $5,000, to be applied in payment 
of teachers' salaries, on condition that two pupils from each 
county in the district be entitled to free tuition. Mr. 
Holbrook was authorized to present this petition to the 
General Assembly ; but this effort to secure state aid also 
failed, and the South-western State Normal Association 
finding it impossible to meet the financial demands of their 
school at Lebanon, allowed it to pass into private hands. 

In the report of Commissioner Barney for the year 1854 
he states that, " School legislation seems to award them 
[teachers' institutes] a preference over normal schools as 
the best and most available agency for the preparation of 
teachers." In his report for the succeeding year, after refer- 
ing to the success of the Swiss schools, and stating that 
this success is due to the professional education of their 
teachers, he pertinently asks, " How long will it be before 
each of the nine judicial districts of Ohio will sustain its 
normal school?" He then recommends that the General 
Assem1)ly of Ohio take into consideration the establishment 
of a suitable number of normal institutions. He proceeds : 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 279 

"In a State like Ohio, requiring annually over 20,000 teachers, it 
must ])e apparent to all that it woufd require a score of normal schools 
to educate as well as to instruat in the theory and art of teaching that num- 
ber of teachers. But four such schools, properly located, endowed, 
and organized, and undertaking to do no work that does not properly 
belong to them, would furnish all the facilities which are now de- 
manded for the special training of teachers. 

" The experience and observation of the last fifteen years may be 
regarded as having settled one principle, at least, in respect to nor- 
mal schools, and that is the work which they should undertake to 
perform. The normal school is not a substitute for the common school, 
high school, academy or college, though many pupils, and, in some 
degree the public, have been inclined thus to treat it. There should be 
no instruction in the departments of learning, high or low, except 
what is incidental to the main business of the institution, yet some 
have gone so far in the wrong course as to suggest, that not only the 
common branches should be studied, but that tuition should be given 
in the languages and the higher matlxematics. A little reflection will 
satisfy us how great a departure this would be from the just idea of a 
normal school. * "'■• * * * 

" When, therefore, the time shall arrive for establishing in this State 
similar schools under the patronage of the government, great caution 
should be observed lest they depart from their projjer sphere and be- 
come mere academies or high schools, with a sort of normal class ap- 
])ended to them ; for such a departure would cause a misapplication of 
the public funds, by educating a few individuals in particular localities 
instead of imparting the theory and art of teaching to large numbePB 
who would go forth to instruct and enlighten the thousands of youth 
in the common schools of the State ! " 

Mr. Barney congratulates the State upon the gift of Mr. 
McXeely to the State Teachers' Association of "buildings 
admirably adapted to school purposes, and spacious and 
beautiful grounds," and warmly recommends that state aid 
be granted the institution. He also mentions the South- 
western Normal School enterijrise at Lebanon, in terms of 
the warmest commendation. 

In the report for the following year, Hon. Anson Smyth, 
Mr. Barney's successor, emphasized all that had been said 
upon the subject of normal schools, and sketched the work 
which should be done in them. He closes his discussion 



280 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

by recommending that " a committee be appointed to in- 
quire into the practicability of establishing normal schools, 
to make a report in due time." 

In the report of 1860, Mr. Smyth says : 

" Ohio stands ahiiost alone among onr Northern States in (loin.ir 
nothing for the special training of the teachers. The State has done 
well in enacting a general school system which is by many considered 
superior to any other in the country. For the erection of school- 
buildings and the payment of teachers it has made most liberal provi- 
sion. Nothing further in these particulars could be asked or desired. 
But for the education of teachers for our schools, the State has never 
yet, so far as I know, appropriated a dollar. There is a difference of 
opinion among the most successful educators of the State in regard to 
the policy of state normal schools, and for the last four years there 
have been no petitions for their establishment in our State. The nor- 
mal schools already mentioned are private enterprises and are self- 
supporting. But with their limited means they can accomplish but 
little towards supplying 20,000 teachers." 

Hon. E. E. White, in his report for the year ending 
August 1, 1864, presents an argument in favor of making a 
school for the special training of teachers a department of 
the Industrial College. This is based upon an official inter- 
pretation of the act of Congress donating lands for the estab- 
lishment of such colleges in the several states. His report 
upon this subject concludes as follows : 

" A favorable opportunity for establishing in this State, one or more 
normal schools or departments, of a high order, now presents itself. 
The incorporation of such a feature in the proposed Industrial College, 
has not only official sanction, but weighty reasons in its favor. The 
teaching of the primary facts of agriculture in our common schools 
may thus be secured, and the practical education of the industrial 
classes otherwise promoted. The measure is confidently commended 
to the favoral)le consideration of the General Assembly." 

As the result of these efforts on the part of the School 
Commissioners and other promoters of education, the folloAV- 
ing joint resolution was passed by the General Assembly 
March 13, 1865 : 



NORMAL SCHOOLS 281 

" Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, Tliat the Com- 
missioner of Common Schools be, and he hereby is authorized and 
requested to report to the Governor, to be by liim laid before the next 
General Assembly, the organization and the results of the best normal 
sfhools in this country, and so far as may be practicable in other coun- 
tries ; and also the best plan of organizing one or more etficient normal 
schools in this State." 

In compliance with this request of the General Assembly, 
Mr. White prepared and submitted in January, 1866, a full 
and able report upon Normal Schools, their organization in 
this country and abroad, their results, and their necessity ; 
and presented ^' A plan for providing Normal Instruction 
in Ohio." 

He starts with the proposition that, *' A system of pro- 
fessional training for the teachers of the State to be in the 
highest degree efficient, must place such training within 
reach of every teacher. It must also provide facilities of a 
high character for the training of a superior class of teachers 
whose example and influence shall vitalize the profession 
and lift it up to a higher standard." 

The three agencies which he recommends for the accom- 
l)lishment of this work are. County Teachers' Institutes, 
District (Judicial) Normal Institutes, and a State Normal 
School. The latter he discusses as follows : 

"To complete the system of professional training recommended, 
there should be established at least one State Normal School of a high 
cliaracter. No system of institutes, however complete and thorough, 
VAU alone accomplish what is needed. The length of their sessions is, 
at best, too limited, and the course of training too partial to raise up 
such a class of model teachers as are needed to lift common school in- 
struction out of the deep ruts of routine, and to impart to it vitality 
and power. We need teachers trained by superior methods, that they, 
in turn, may become the teachers of teachers, and both by example 
and precept lift up the profession to a higher and truer standard. In 
short, we need a normal school that shall be able to go beyond mere 
scholastic training and model examples of skillful teaching; that shall 
unfold thoroughly and systematically the why as well as the how of ed- 
ucation — that shall teach its history, its philosophy, its methods. 

19 



282 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

" It is true that one normal school, however complete and thorough, 
will not be adequate for the accomplishment of a tithe of what is 
needed. But we must make a beginning, and, as all experience 
teaches, one thoroughly equipped normal school will prove more effi- 
cient and valuable, even for the State at large, than two inadequately 
furnished for their mission, and consequentlj' feeble and superficial in 
their influence and training. Besides the complete success of one 
normal school will soon prepare the way for the organization of an- 
other. 

" The cost of establishing a first-class normal school in this State 
will depend, of course, upon the cost of the grounds and buildings. 
The experience of several other states leads me to hope that these will 
be given by some community as a bonus to secure the location of the 
institution. Tlie citizens of McLean county, Illinois, sub.scribed one 
hundred and forty-three thousand dollars for the sake of getting the 
Normal University of that State located in the county. Hon. Josiah 
Quincy, of Boston, purchased a building and presented it to the Normal 
School at West Newton, Mass., now removed to Framingham. The 
city of Oswego has purchased and fitted up a fine building for the 
State Training School of New York. Other similar instances might 
be named, 

" The annual expense of maintaining a normal school of a high 
character, when once established, will be about $12,000. The current 
expenses of the Illinois Normal University, Michigan State Normal 
School, New Jersey State Normal School, and the New York State 
Normal School at Albany, are respectively about $12,000 a year. This 
sum will be needed in this State. 

It will thus be seen that the actual cost of maintaining the entire 
system of normal and institute instruction which I have recommended, 
is only about $20,000, ($8,000 for institutes), a sum altogether insignifi- 
cant when compared with the grand object it is to promote. The law 
making the appropriation may, with propriety, be entitled, ' An act 
appropriating $20,000 to keep the half of $3,000,000 from beiiig squan- 
dered on incompetent teachers! ' " 

" It is now nearly thirty years since Hon. Samuel LeAvis, then State 
Superintendent of Common Schools, submitted to the General As- 
sembly of Ohio, in answer to a resolution, a " Report on State Institu- 
tions for the Training of Teachers and others," in which he recom- 
mended the establishment of a State institution for the professional 
training of teachers, sustaining his recommendation by a cogency of 
argument worthy of the great cause he sought to promote. 

" Since the date of Mr. Lewis' report, which presented to Ohio the 
enviable opportunity of becoming the American pioneer in the pro- 
fessional training of teachers, normal schools have been established 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 283 

by sixteen states— Ohio being outstripped 1iy states that have not a 
tithe of her wealth or population. Even new-born Maryland has 
made the normal school an essential element of her new free school 
system. Indeed, states that have been peopled since the General 
Assembly of Ohio passed the resolution referred to, have now their 
normal schools. Massachusetts is paying more than $22,000 annually 
for the support of her normal schools and institutes. New York pays 
annually from $20,000 to $25,000 for her normal schools, about $17,000 
for teachers' classes in academies, and from $10,000 to $15,000 for in- 
stitutes. Illinois, even while the late civil war was raging, appro- 
priated, in two installments, $97,000 to pay, in part, for the magnificent 
building now occupied by her Normal University. 

"Why, in a matter so fundamental and vital as the supplying of 
her schools with qualified teachers, should Ohio longer fail to be the 
peer of her sister states ? An efficient system of professional training 
for the teachers of the State is imperatively needed to infuse new life 
and vigor into the schools and elevate the standard of public instruc- 
tion. I would most earnestly commend this subject to the favorable 
consideration of the General Assembly." 

Soon after the presentation of this, report, and before any 
action was taken upon it by the General Assembly, Mr. 
White was succeeded in office by Hon. John A. Norris. Mr. 
Norris, in his report for the year ending August 1, 1868, pre- 
sents again the necessity for the establishment of some sys- 
tematic means for the instruction of teachers in the theory 
and practice of teaching. He recommends the plan of Mr. 
White as both feasible and economical, and as having re- 
ceived the sanction of the great body of the leading friends 
of education in Ohio. After quoting the report quite fully, 
he adds : " The foregoing plan for the instruction of teachers 
is admirably adapted to meet the wants for which it was 
proposed. It is des-igned to reach every teacher in the State, 
and should it be adopted the advantages that would follow 
are incalculable." 

In the report for the following year, Mr. Norris commends 
to the favorable consideration of the legislative authorities 
of the State, among other important measures, a provision 
for " a broad and comprehensive system of professional in- 
struction and training for teachers." 



284 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Hon. W. D. Henkle, the successor of Mr. Norris, in his 
annual report for the year 1869, says : 

"It is evident that a scliool system is incomplete in which no ade- 
quate means are provided for the education of teachers. Teachers' 
scliools are just as necessary as law schools, medical schools, and theo- 
logical schools. The need of such schools should not be lost sight of in 
our efforts to give theoretical perfection to our school system." 

In his report for 1871, Hon. Thomas W. Harvey, the suc- 
cessor of Mr. Henkle, also advocates the establishment of 
normal schools. He says : 

" Every facility for acquiring the desired training should be ungi-udg- 
ingly afforded all teachers who desire to fit themselves thoroughly for 
usefulness in their profession. The normal school will ena])le the am- 
bitious and persevering to secure thorough and systematic training. It 
should be a purely professional school. Academic instruction, except 
such as may be incidentally given in the illustration of methods, should 
be dispensed with, that the science of education and the art of teaching 
may receive exclusive attention. 

" There should be two courses of study in this institution — an ele- 
mentary and an advanced course. The elementary course should 
provide for instruction in the best methods of teaching the common 
branches of an English education, and the philosophy upon which 
such methods are founded; for practice in the use of methods; for 
instruction in the details of school classification and management, in 
educational history and legislation, and in the duties and responsibili- 
ties of teachers, patrons, and school officers. The advanced course 
should be thorough and complete, providing for instruction in all mat- 
ters relating to pedagogics. Those who finish it should be familiar with 
the development and practical working of educational systems wherever 
established ; should be able to criticize text-books intelligently, and to 
teach others how to supplement them, or supply their deficiencies with 
oral instruction ; should be acquainted with sc-hool architecture, that 
luider their direction school-houses may be hereafter erected, conve- 
nient in arrangement and economical in construction ; in brief, should 
be thoroughly i)repared to perform all the duties of a first-class teacher 
or superintendent. The labors of such as these will soon lift our teach- 
ers out of the ruts of routine, and their advice give tone and direction 
to educational effort throughout the State." 

In the following year, Mr. Harvey again recommends the 
establishment of a State Normal School, with two courses of 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 285 

instruction — an elementary and an advanced course. He 
maintains that such a school would send out a body of 
trained teachers into cities, villages, and country schools, 
Avho would organize and teach normal classes, and conduct 
institutes, and so carry the influence of the school to the 
remotest portions of the State In due time it would become 
the acknowledged head of our school system, controlling, 
stimulating, and directing all educational eflbrt — an educa- 
tional Mecca to which earnest, enthusiastic teachers Avould 
make frequent pilgrimages. 

In his annual messages for the years 1872 and 1873, Gov. 
Noyes refers to the Ohio and Miami Universities, located at 
Athens and Oxford, as being embarrassed financially, and 
recommends that one or both of these institutions be made 
available for normal instruction. He suggests that the funds 
of both might be united so as to afford support for one as a 
university, while the other could be made a normal school, 
supported entirely by the State, or normal schools could be 
substituted for both. He believes the common schools want, 
most of all, carefully instructed teachers, and if the Ohio 
and Miami Universities were devoted to this purpose, with 
very little state aid both would be abundantly supported. 

The foregoing body of official recogniticfti of the necessity 
for state ijrovision for normal school instruction and urgent 
pressure of its claims, certainly has not its counterpart in 
the record of any sister state. Extending over a period of 
sixty years, the claims of normal schools were never more 
forcibly or intelligently presented than in Ohio by Gov. 
Worthington, Calvin E. Stowe, Samuel Lewis, E. E. 
White, and others. The question can not fail to occur, 
Why, then, has Ohio no State Normal School in this year of 
grace 1876 ? 

Ohio from its earliest history had a strong body of edu- 
cators; men of practical insight, breadth of comprehension, 
and positive o^pinions. These men saw work to be done in" 



286 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

every direction, and burned with intense zeal, each man to 
do his part. They gave freely of their time and money to 
advance the cause of education. Men of this character do 
brave work, but do not co-operate as readily as those who 
are narrower and less ardent. There have been from the 
beginning, differences of opinion as to the ends most im- 
2)ortant to be first secured, and the best plans for promoting 
every interest pertaining to the schools. Each measure — 
State sujDerintendency, county supervision, teachers' insti- 
tutes, school libraries, and normal schools — has been in its 
turn the object of extreme solicitude ; and frequently one of 
them has for the time come into an unforeseen but unfor- 
tunate competion with another. 

Mr. Stowe's report was, without doubt, too early for legis- 
lation, and that of Mr. Lewis for the year 1838 was followed 
by a year of intense anxiety to save the advanced legisla- 
tion which had been already secured. At its expiration, he 
was obliged to resign his office on account of impaired health. 
The office of State Superintendent of Schools was thereupon 
abolished, and attention was diverted to other school inter- 
ests which were jeopardized, and at the time seemed to de- 
mand precedence in thought and action. 

The efforts of the teachers of the State to establish and 
conduct normal schools in their associate capacity, had quite 
contrary to their expectations, a tendency to discourage 
legislation. While their efforts towards self-help were, in 
themselves, commendable, they developed and tended to 
establish the opinion which largely prevails in the State at 
the present, and to-day is a formidable obstacle in the way 
of any legislation for normal schools, that teachers, like 
other professional men, should provide their own profes- 
sional education. The failure of the State Association to 
carry forward its enterprise in the McNeely school, and of 
the South-western Association at Lebanon, while it tapght 
its friends the lesson that no such enterprise can succeed 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 287 

without assured funds to support it, did not inspire them 
unitedly and persistently to push their claim for professional 
education by the State, but resulted, to a great extent, in 
an abandonment of the whole project and a general feeling 
of discouragement in regard to normal school interests. 

At the same time, these normal schools passed into the 
hands of private parties and became the progenitors of' and 
models for a score of private normal schools which have 
sprung up all over the State. While no educator questions 
the impossibility of such schools, however excellent in 
themselves, accomplishing the work which a State Normal 
School of a high character could and should accomplish, in 
giving tone and impulse to all the educational interests of 
the State, the idea is quite prevalent among legislators that 
the professional work demanded is being satisfactorily car- 
ried on by private enterprise, and if the State does not in- 
termeddle, the supply and demand will in time, somehow, 
regulate themselves. 

The war delaj^ed any agitation of this interest during its 
continuance, and when, after many years, public attention 
was again concentrated upon the necessity for a State Nor- 
mal School, and the General Assembly had requested Com- 
missioner \yhite to prepare a plan for the professional edu- 
cation of teachers, it unfortunately occurred that very soon 
after he presented his report his term of office expired. His 
successor could not immediately take up the work where he 
had left it; the auspicious moment passed, and no bill call- 
ing for action upon the subject was introduced into the 
General Assembly. 

Other pressing school interests, as the immediate avail- 
ability of the teachers' institutes, the urgent necessity for 
efficient county supervision, etc., have from time to time 
diverted the attention of the men most earnest to promote 
the educational affairs of the State, just as the movement 
for normal schaols seemed about to culminate in legislation, 



288 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

As soon as the educators of Ohio shall unite in the de- 
mand for the estahlishment of a State Normal School, and 
press their claim to State recognition and legislation Avith 
an unyielding tenacity — which they have never yet done — 
the State of Ohio will have such a school. 

While the centennial year of our nation finds Ohio with- 
out a State Normal School, it does not find her destitute of 
the means of professional education for teachers. Besides 
the professional work done in the teachers' institutes, there 
are a large number of private normal schools, and several 
city normal and training schools, which are doing more or less 
strictly professional work, and normal classes are instructed 
in several of the colleges. The following sketches of some 
of these schools represent the general character of all. 

PRIVATE NORMAL SCHOOLS. 

These schools vary as to their degree of efficiency and in 
the amount of professional work done. The oldest school of 
this kind in the State is the 

MCNEELY NORMAL SCHOOL.* 

The McNeely Normal School is located in Green township, 
Harrison county, Ohio. It originated in a visionary scheme 
of the proprietors, growing out of a theory that boarding- 
schools are pernicious in their influence, and that children, 
before they reach their majority, should not be removed from 
parental authority and family influences. They believed 
that the practice of parents in transferring such fearful 
responsibilities to school teachers and boarding-house keep- 
ers, is contrary to nature and dangerous in the extreme. 



'■•■The writer is indebted to Cyrus McNetly, Esq., for this sketch of the history of this 
school. 



• NORMAL SCHOOLS, 289 

They fully believed too, that all of this danger might be 
avoided ; that proj^er co-operation on the part of the citizens, 
even in the most rural districts, could secure all the facil- 
ities necessary to meet the wants of children, until they 
reach that period of life when nature makes them responsi- 
ble for their own success or failure. 

In making the experiment, a farm of about two hundred 
acres, remote from town and village influences, was selected 
and devoted to the work. 

This farm was divided into large lots and sold out for 
improvements. A ten acre lot in the centre was reserved, 
and made the site of the "model countr}- district school." 
A convenient, beautiful, and substantial building was erect- 
ed, sufficient for the accommondation of two hundred chil- 
dren, and the grounds were tastefully and beautifully 
ornamented. These improvements were made in the year 
1850-51. The school was inaugurated in 1852, under the 
charge of Edwin Regal, assisted by Dr. G. L. Work and 
Miss Rebecca McGrew. 

The struggles with boards of education, which had no 
conception of what a school ought to be, the prejudice of the 
community against all innovations upon the old routine of 
a country school, soon convinced all concerned that there 
was a mistake in depending upon the co-operation of the 
citizens of Green township to carry forward such a work to 
success. 

The Principal of the school, Mr. Regal, during this strug- 
gle with the neighborhood, made a trip to New England for 
the purchase of a library, apparatus, etc., and after sjDending a 
few months in one of the Massachusetts normal schools, con- 
ceived the idea of carrjdng forward the enterprise as a 
normal school. The proprietors cheerfully seconded this 
purpose, and every effort was put forth to make the new 
departure a success. They entered upon this new scheme, 
humiliated bv the so sudden bursting of the anti-boarding- 



290 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

school bubble, l3ut not knowing how to go forward without 
boarding facilities. A benevolent lady of the town of Cadiz, 
Mrs. Eliza Hogg, came forward unsolicited to the aid of the 
work, and volunteered to create boarding accommodations 
for the young ladies. In the spring of 1855, she erected on a 
plat of six acres of ground, which she bought for the purpose, 
the boarding-house known as Pumphrey Hall — a very sub- 
stantial and comfortable buikling, sufficient for the accom- 
modation of forty young ladies. 

While these and other improvements were in progress, 
the "Ohio State Teachers' As303iation " embraced the 
theory that it could, as an association, establish and carry 
on a normal school. It was decided to tender to the Associa- 
tion the school propert}' at Hopedale — for that, almost by 
intuition, became the name of the locality—on ^uch condi- 
tions as should put the school entirely within the control of 
the Teachers' Association and enable it to test the wisdom 
of such an undertaking. 

The Association accepted the property, and organized 
their school in the fall of 1855. They elected a board of trus- 
tees, and incorporated the institution under the general 
laws of Ohio. Its corporate name is the " McNeely Normal 
School of Ohio." 

Mr. John Ogden, of Delaware, was made Principal, and Mr. 
Edwin Regal was retained in the academic department. 
Miss Betsey M. Cowles was put in charge of the model 
school. In less than two years the Association found itself 
hopelessly in debt, and with no power to curtail the expen- 
ses. Fruitless appeals were made to the Legislature for aid 
to carry forAvard the work. Politicians seemed utterly blind 
to the absurdity of paying out millions of money every year 
to teachers whom every body knew to be incompetent, and 
yet making no provision to remove the incompetency. The 
Association finally lost its interest in the enterprise and 
the school tacitly reverted to the management of Mr. Regal. 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 291 

who had been in charge for three years before the Associa- 
tion undertook the -work. At the time Mr. Regal resumed 
the management, which was in the year 1859, he was assist- 
ed by Prof. Brinkerhoff, of Franklin College. Under the 
charge of these two men — who have alternately acted in the 
capacity of Principal for seventeen years — the "McNeely 
Normal School," has reached . a degree of excellence and 
power second to no school in eastern Ohio. 

The records of the school show an aggregate attendance of 
nearly five thousand pupils. A large proportion of them 
are practical teachers. But notwithstanding all the school 
has done and is doing for the general cause of education in 
the State, it is not, and cannot be, in the highest sense 
a " normal school." If the Legislature had given to it, even 
one thousand dollars a year, or if it had given to it the con- 
trol of the public school which grew up about the movement, 
it could have had a " model practice school." But it did 
neither. So the lessons still given upon the "theory and 
practice of teaching," for lack of practical application to 
teaching as a business, are largeh' lost. 

More than twenty-five years of labor and over forty thou- 
sand dollars of the capital of the proj^rietors have been given 
to these educational experiments. Had either scheme suc- 
ceeded, their ambition would have been satisfied ; as it is, 
thc}^ have an excellent academic institution which in beauty 
of location, in school appointments, in curriculum and faculty 
compares favorably with any other in the State. That it is 
not an ideal normal school is the fault of neither the pro- 
prietors nor the teachers. They are pained that the field 
they have striven so diligently to cultivate, is still a desert, 
and that such a multitude of young and inexperienced teach- 
ers must still blunder on under the Aveight of their tremen- 
dous resi3onsibilities without the assistance of even a model 
to look at. 

The school has a four years' Academical Course, comprising 



292 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

all the higher English branches, and a four years' College 
Course corresponding in its curriculum with the older col- 
leges in Greek and Latin, to Avhich Hebrew is added in the 
senior year. The registration for the year ending June, 1875, 
was 178. 

Faculty. — W. Brinkerhoff, A, M., Principal, Mathematics 
and Natural Sciences; Rev. J. M. Jamieson, A. M., Latin and 
Greek Languages; N. Battelle Collins, A. B,, English Gram- 
mar, English Literature, Rhetoric, and Ancient History- ; W. 
S. Poulson, English Department, Penmanship, Book-keep- 
ing; Mrs. Anna E. F. C'Ollins, Assistant Teacher in Latin and 
Modern History ; Charles H. Laizure. German Language ; 
Mary E. Parry, Assistant ToacTier in Arithmetic and Alge- 
l)ra; Mrs. Julia M. Ivobdell, Instrumental Music — Piano, 
Organ, and Melodcon ; John W. Fogle, Sen., Vocal Music; 
Mrs. Mary A. Briukerhofl', Principal of Laddies' De])artment, 



NATIONAL NORMAL SCH00I>. 

The second Normal School of Ohio was located at Lebanon, 
Warren county. In the summer of 1855, a three weeks' in- 
stitute was called by John Hancock and A. J. Pvickoff, of 
Hamilton county, J. P. Eilinwood, of Butler county, Chas, 
Rogers, of Montgomery county, E. C. Ellis, of Brown county, 
and others. The institute was held in the buildings of the 
Miami University at Oxford, Butler county. During its pro- 
gress an organization was effected called the "South-western 
State Normal School Association." Its object was to establish 
and sustain a State Normal School in south-western Ohio un- 
til aid could be obtained from the State. The first trustees 
of the Association were A. J. Rickoff, of Cincinnati, Charles 
Rogers, of Dayton, and E. C. Elllis, of Georgetown. 

These trustees selected Lebanon as the place best adapted 
to the location of the schooL The "trustees of the Lebanon 



NORMAL SCHOOLS, 293 

Academy transferred their building and lot to the Normal 
School trustees with an agreement to furnish eighty pupils 
for five years to aid in sustaining the school. 

Alfred Holbrook was elected Principal. The South-west- 
ern State Normal School opened Nov. 24, 1855, with about 
ninet}^ pupils from Lebanon and vicinity, and some four or 
five from other localities. There were three teachers em- 
ployed besides the Principal. For the first year the finances 
were managed by an agent appointed by the trustees. 

Hon. H. H. Barney, in his report for the year 1855, thus 
refers to this school : 

" The organization resulted from a general concert of action among 
tliose engaged in the instruction of youth, and is auxiUary to the Ohio 
State Teachers' Association. It has a favorable location, and com- 
modious 1)uildings have been already secured. The first session has 
elapsed with seventy pupils in attendance, and all the indications of 
future usefulness are very satisfactory. The terms are so arranged that 
while some young persons can pursue a regular course in training — 
study and practice in the experimental school — others already engaged 
as teachers can, during tlie interims of their own schools, attend a ses- 
sion of eleven weeks, more or less, without interfering with those pur- 
suing a regular course of study, the latter being not tmlike the plan of 
the McNeely institution. This temporary arrangement gives oppor- 
tunity for teachers permanently engaged, to adjust the terms of their own 
schools, so as to attend a part or the whole of a sesMon of eleven weeks 
at the Normal School, while others not permanently engaged can enter 
the Normal School at any time that may suit their convenience, and 
after devoting a reasonable time to preparation, will doubtless find full 
compensation for the expense in a more ready demand for their ser- 
\'iccs. Tne organization of the South-western Normal School seems to 
be well considered." 

It proved however to be unmanageable by the Association, 
and at the end of the first year was given over into the 
hands of the Principal, Mr. Holbrook. Several additional 
teachers were employed and two definite courses of study — a 
c<:)mmon and a high school course — were adopted. The en- 
rollment for the year was 257. 



294 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

In 18C4, several collegiate studies were added and a Busi- 
ness Department opened. In 1870, the name of the school 
was changed from the South-western Normal School to the 
National Normal School. This school under the manage- 
ment of Mr. Holbrook has attained unexampled prosperity, 
the enrollment for the year 1875 having been more than 
1,600 pupils. The courses of study are: 

Teachers^ Course. — This ordinarily requires two terms of eleven weeks 
each, in order to obtain a teachers' certificate, and three terms for a 
diploma. This shorter course iii'epares teachers to mana.ire a grammar 
scliool, as well as any of the lower grades, with success. Tlie branches 
pursued are English grammar, arithmetic, geography, map drawing, 
physiology, United States history, penmanship, objective drawing, 
elocution, and the art of school teaching and school management. 

Business Course. — The Business Course requires two or three sessions. 
Many combine the Teachers' and Business courses, which can be done 
by giving an additional term. Three terms are generally sufiicient for 
the completion of both courses. 

Engineers^ Course. — The Engineers' Cour.se requires three or four 
terms. This fits young men for any possible form of county surveying, 
also for managing a squad of men in railroad engineering. Many 
combine the Business Course and the Engineers' Course. This can 
generally be done in three or four terms. 

Collegiate Course. — The Scientific Course requires one year of fifty 
weeks, besides two or three terms in the Preparatory Department. 
The Classic Course requires an additional year of fifty weeks. 

There is also a Preparatory Department in which the 
common English branches are tanght. 

Board of Instructors.— Alfred Holbrook, President; R. H. 
Holbrook, W. J. Stevens, G. W. Worthen, Warren Darst, W. 
F. Harper, L. T. Loer, L. R. Marshall, John Neu^iardt, L. 
C. Crippen, J. B. Graham, Miss Irene Holbrook, Miss Anna 
Holbrook, Miss Ida Hardy, Miss Mary Owens, Miss Allie 
Johnson, Miss Ida NefF. 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 295 



THE WESTERN RESERVE NORMAL SCHOOL. 

The Western Reserve Normal School is located at Milan, 
Erie county, Ohio. It originated as follows : In the winter 
of 1830-31 there was an extensive revival of religion through- 
out the churches of the Huron Presbytery, Among the con- 
verts were several young men who desired to study for the 
ministry ; but as there was at that time no school on the 
Reserve, west of Hudson, in which young men could prepare 
for college, Mr. Judson, the Presbyterian minister at Milan, 
set about trying to establish a school in which both sexes 
could be educated, but especially for the preparation of young 
men for college. The subject was discussed in the Presby- 
tery, and a board of trustees appointed. 

At the next session of the Legislature, an act of incorpora- 
tion was obtained for this board. The school was called the 
" Huron Institute." It was proposed to raise four thousand 
dollars, and locate the school in Milan, provided the inhab- 
itants would raise one-half of this amount, the churches of 
Huron Presbytery being responsible for the remainder. The 
people of Milan more than redeemed their pledge. 

The Rev. E. Barber was employed as the first teacher, and 
the Huron Institute opened its first session, April 20, 1832. 
The school soon became very popular, and for many j^ears 
held its place in the front rank as a preparatory school. In 
the meantime the country became more thickly settled, and 
other schools divided the patronage. 

In 1858, the trustees leased the Institute building to Rev. 
A. Brainard and S. F. Newman. The character of the school 
was now changed from a preparatory school to a school for 
the training of teachers, and the name from the " Huron 
Institute " to the " Western Reserve Normal School.". Mr. 
Brainard resigned after one year, leaving the school in the 
care of Mr. Newman. From the years 1864 to 1867, Miss 
Delia Palmer taught with Mr. Newman, as assistant. In 



296. EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

1870, Mr. Newman resigned, and the board leased the huild- 
to Miss Pahner, and she has occupied it till the present time, 
with an unexpired lease of three years yet to come. 

The great aim of the school has been the training of 
teachers, especially " district school " teachers. During all 
this time, the school has had no financial support either 
from the State or from individuals, but has been supported 
by the tuition fees of pupils alone. 

There is no model school attached to it, but the young 
teachers usually remain till they are able to pass a county 
examination, when they commence to teach, alternating 
teaching and attending school till they finish the course. 
In this wa}' many of them are able to obtain and hold some 
of the best situations in the high schools of the surrounding 
country. Others who have stopped short of the full course 
of the high school, are now occupying the no less important 
positions of common school teachers. 

The present centennial year of the nation, and almost the 
semi-centennial of the school, finds it in a more prosperous 
condition than ever before. 

Teachers' reviews are an important feature of this school. 
They are held in November and March, each session 
lieing two weeks in length. These reviews -are conducted 
largely in writing, and are confined to the branches usualh^ 
taught in the district schools. Forty ladies and twelve gen- 
tlemen availed themselves of this department of the school 
last year. The enrollment upon the ordinary course was 126. 

COURSE OF STUDY. 

First IrtH'.— ^lental arithmetic, written arithmetic, geography and 
map drawing, Englisli grammar and analysis, penmanship, Unitecr 
States history, vocal music, teachers' class. 

Second Year. — Algebra, physiology, botany, penmansliip, Latin gran^- 
mar and reader, natural philosophy, vocal music, teachers' class. 

Third Year. — Algebra, astronomy, vocal music, Caesar, part of Virgil. 
general history and penmanship. 



NOKMAL SCHOOLS. 297 

Fourth Year. — Geometry, trigonometry, chemistry, Virgil finislied, 
geology, general review of common English branches. 

Teachers. — Miss D. Palmer, Principal, Mr. E. N. Haw- 
ley, Assistant, Miss A. L. Simpson, Mrs. J. Bliss Palmer. 



ORWELL NORMAL INSTITUTE. 

This school is situated in the village of Orwell, Ashtabula 
county, Ohio. For twelve years previous to 1865, the school 
had been an academy, but having become weak and com- 
paratively unsuccessful, the citizens of Orwell pledged them- 
selves to give S400 annually for its support, if H. U. 
Johnson, Esq., the present principal, Avould take hold of 
the enterprise and make the school a success. This he was 
induced to do, and the school was opened under its present 
name, September, 1865. 

The work is necessarily largely academic. The courses of 
instruction are a Preparatory, consisting of elcmentarv 
studies; an Elementary Course of two 3'ears, consisting of 
the common English branches ; an Academic Course of 
three years, including the higher mathematics, Latin, 
French, German, and vocal and instrumental music; and 
a Business Course, consisting of arithmetic, grammar, pen- 
manship, and book-keeping. 

The prospectus of the school thus sets forth its Avork : 

" The design of this institution is to furnish a thorough course of dis- 
ciplinary study, both theoretical and practical, to those who propose 
assuming the responsible duties of the school-room. With this view 
the courses of instruction have been arranged, and classes are organized 
in theory and practice of teaching. The members of these classes are 
alternately required to give instruction, subject to the criticisms of their 
fellows and the princi])al. In this way most of the advantages of a 
model school are secured. 

Persons desiring to teach, having thoroughly completed the prepara- 
tory studies, will receive a certificate signed by the board of teachers. 
Those completing any one of the courses, or its equivalent, will be 
graduated with appropriate diplomas. 

20 



298 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

" The Business Course is calculated to furnish young persons who 
have not two or three hundred dollars to spend at a commercial college, 
with such training, as, when once engaged in business, speedily to com- 
prehend its details." 

Many young persons, fitting themselves for teachers' posi- 
tions, avail themselves of the facilities afibrdecl by this 
school. The summary of attendance for the year ending 
June, 1875, is: gentlemen, 106; ladies, 76 — total, 182. 

Board of Teachees. — H. U. Johnson, Principal, Miss 
Mary Crowell, Miss M. Alferdine Bedell, Miss Vesta M. 
Johnson, C. C. Case, W. A. Johnson. 



NORTH-WESTERN NORMAL SCHOOL. 

This school is located in the village of Ada, Hardin 
county. It originated as follows : In the spring of 1866, 
Mr. H. S. Lehr came to this village and proposed to the 
school board to teach for sixty dollars per month the first 
year, provided that he should be allowed to use the school 
building for a select school when the public schools were 
not in session, and that, should he prove successful in 
procuring foreign scholars, the citizens of the town and 
vicinity should assist him in erecting buildings suitable 
for normal school purposes. His proposition was accepted. 

In a short time, the limits of the old frame school-house 
were outgrown, a commodious brick building was erected, 
and wages were made commensurate with the prosperity 
of the school. 

In the fall of 1870, after Mr. Lehr had taught four years, 
the foreign students amounted to 120, and the school-house 
was again found to be too small. The propitious time for 
asking the citizens for the promised help seemed to have 
arrived. A meeting of the citizens of Ada was therefore 
called, at which Mr. Lehr proposed that he would furnish 
$3,500 toward the erection of a building for a normal school, 



^ NORMAL SCHOOLS. 299 

if the citizens would furnish $4,000 and doncate three acres 
of ground suitable for the location of the building. The 
citizens accepted the proposition, but instead of $4,000 they 
raised about $6,000, and wished him to increase his part of 
the funds in proportion. Not behig able to comply unas- 
sisted, he associated Avith himself two partners, J. G. Park 
and B. F. Neisz. 

The building was at once commenced, and in the fall of 
1871 was sufficiently advanced in construction to admit of 
dedication, and was formally opened August 11, 1871, with 
an enrollment of 147 pupils. 

H. S. Lehr, A. M., B. F. Neisz, B. S., J. G. Park, and 
Theodore Presser were the first faculty. 

The first year the school was very successful. The union 
school of the village was consolidated with the Normal 
School, Avhich was a financial advantage to the latter. 
The next year, a serious financial difficulty seemed inevi- 
table, growing out of the failure of the citizens to redeem 
their pledges. Mr. Neisz left the school. Before the close 
of the year an amicable adjustment was concluded, the 
entire indebtedness was paid off by the citizens, and the 
buildings, grounds, etc., were placed in the hands of the 
faculty free of encumbrance. Mr. Rutledge was soon after 
added to the faculty. The school has been steadily in- 
creasing in prosperity since that time. 

In the autumn of 1875, arrangements were made with Prof. 
J. Fraize Richard to consolidate the North-western Normal 
School, located at Fostoria, Ohio, with the North-western 
Ohio Normal School at Ada, both to be continued under 
the corporate name of the latter, and to be superintended 
by H. S. Lehr as principal. 

Arrangements were made in the month of January, 1876, to 
commence the erection of a building for a musical conserva- 
tory to be conducted in connection with the Normal School. 
The citizens contributed about $7,000 to this enterprise. 



300 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The building is to be 45 by 90 feet, three stories above the 
basement. There will also be built, during the summer, a 
large boarding hall containing 100 rooms. 

The institution is owned by the faculty, and is under the 
immediate control of the same, both as regards its finances 
and its management. 

There are three courses of study : the Normal or Teacher's 
Course, the Scientific, and the Classical. Besides these, there 
are special courses for music and commercial science. 

The school is well supplied with maps, charts, cabinets, 
philosophical and chemical apparatus, libraries, and instru- 
ments for leveling and surveying. There are two literary 
societies in connection with the school, each of which has 
a large collection of well selected books, supplying the 
students with all the miscellaneous reading necessar3^ 

There is also a library in connection with the institution, 
consisting of text-books, works on theory and practice of 
teaching, statistics, etc. The text-books are rented to stu- 
dents, while all other books are free to any wishing to use 
them. 

The enrollment for the last school year was 359 — 201 
gentlemen and 158 ladies. The enrollment for the year 
1876 will be at least 500 different students. 

The whole number of graduates since the foundation of the 
institution is 23 — 14 gentlemen and 9 ladies. Of these, all 
but two are engaged in teaching. 

Corps of Teachers. — H, S. Lehr, Principal, J. F. Rich- 
ard, J. G. Park, G. W. Rutledge, Mollie Schoonover, Mrs. 
E. D. Richard, W. D. Woodard, Mrs. Hattie Rawley, W. 
H. Pontius. 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 301. 



OHIO CENTRAL NORMAL SCHOOL. 

In the summer of 1871, the property known as the " Worth- 
ington Female Seminar}^," situated in the town of Worth- 
ington, Franklin county, Ohio, including three acres of 
ground, buildings, etc., valued at about $12,000, was pur- 
chased, and a school opened the following September under 
the joint principalship of Messrs. William Mitchell and 
John Ogden, with the title of "Ohio Central Normal School." 

A course of study was adopted, embracing careful reviews 
of the common branches and the study of such other branches 
as are usually taught in the higher grades of schools. 

This course was made supplementary to the Professional 
Course, which included the study of the best authors on 
education and teaching, the school laws of the State, and a 
careful comparison of principles and methods of teaching, 
in a course of lectures extending through each term, two 
each day, of which a careful abstract was made by the pu]Dil- 
teacher. This, together Avith teaching exercises, discus- 
sions, and the writing of theses on the various topics relat- 
ing to teaching, constituted the leading idea of the school, 
and the study of branches was made illustrative of princi- 
ples and methods. 

The attendance the first year, in the Normal School proper, 
was 111 — 52 gentlemen and 59 ladies ; the second year, 178 — 
94 gentlemen and 84 ladies. 

The number graduated the second year, was 8 — 4 gentle- 
men and 4 ladies, all of whom, with one exception, entered 
soon upon the duties of teaching, some of them in the best 
schools in the State. 

The following year the school was under the joint princi- 
palship of Messrs. John Ogden and M. H. Lewis, Mr. Mitchell 
having entered upon another i:)rofession. The attendance 
this year was 215 — 105 gentlemen and 110 ladies, with a 
graduating class of 8 gentlemen and 9 ladies, 16 of whom 



302 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

entered upon their duties as teachers. The course of study 
remained substantially the same. 

In January, 1875, Mr. Lewis withdrew, leaving the entire 
management of the school to the present principal, assisted 
by Rev. Charles H. Young, A. M., Miss Clara M. Semple 
and six tutors of the senior class. The attendance this year 
was 214 — 111 gentlemen and 103 ladies, with a graduating 
class of 10 gentlemen and 10 ladies. A large majority of 
these have already found positions in schools in various 
parts of the State. 

The school is now under the same principalship, with 
about the usual number in attendance, and with a marked 
and steady progress to a higher standard of excellence. 

The Normal Institute, or summer session of five weeks, 
constitutes a prominent feature in the operations of this 
school. This is held- during the months of July and August 
of each year, thus accommodating a large number of teach- 
ers from graded schools, whose terms of employment will not 
permit their attendance at any other time. 

The course of study and lectures for this annual normal 
institute embraces the folloAving : 1. A review of the com- 
mon branches. 2. The higher mathematics. 3. Physiology 
and mental science. 4. Experimental physics. 5. Primary 
instruction and drawing. 6. Language lessons and compo- 
sition. 7. Principles and methods of instruction. 

CITY NORMAL AND TRAINING SCHOOLS. 

The City Normal and Training Schools of Ohio are devoted 
exclusively, or nearly so, to professional instruction in the 
theory and practice of teaching. There are four of these 
schools in the State— in the cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, 
Dayton, and Sandusky, respectively. They contemplate a 
post high-school graduate course in preparation for the 
schools of the city in which each is located. The follow- 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 303 

ing sketches of these schools will indicate their origin, 
character, scope, and intention. 

THE CINCINNATI NORMAL SCHOOL. 

The City Normal School of Cincinnati was organized Sep- 
tember, 1868. It originated in a felt need of better teachers 
in the lower grades of the citj" schools. As vacancies in 
teachers' positions occurred in the higher grades, promotions 
were made from the lower, the time of the children being 
considered more valuable with advancing years. The vacan- 
cies constantly made in the lower grades by these promo- 
tions, were filled with inexperienced girls, and so these 
grades came to serve the purpose of training schools for 
teachers for the upper grades. 

For several years, the Superintendent of Schools and some 
of the most progressive members of the Board of Education 
had felt that some measures must be adopted to prevent the 
great waste of time and labor in the primary schools through 
inexperience and lack of professional knowledge. Accord- 
ingly, in the summer of 1868 the board voted to open a 
school for the training of candidates for teachers' positions 
in the primary grades of the Cincinnati schools. 

Notable among the men whose influence gave impulse 
and character to the movement were John Hancock, Super- 
intendent of Schools, H. L. Wehmer, and J. B. Powell, Esq., 
members of the Board of Education. The action of the 
board was unanimous in favor of its establishment. 

The school was located in the Eighth District school- 
house, where it is still in operation. At its opening, two 
ordinary school-rooms were set apart for its use — one for nor- 
mal school instruction, and one for practice with children. 
The second year three rooms were occupied, and now seven 
school-rooms are devoted to the normal school Avork — two for 
normal instruction and five for practice in teaching. 

The expenses of the school are paid from the common 



304 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

schoool fund of the city. Tuition is free to all candidates 
who state it as their intention to enter the Cincinnati pub- 
lic schools as teachers ; to others, it is $60 per annum. 

Puijils, to be admitted to the school, must be graduates of 
the Cincinnati High Schools, or of some school of similar 
standing, or hold a teacher's certificate from the Cincinnati 
board of examiners of teachers, or have passed an equiva- 
lent examination before the Normal School committee. 
The subjects upon which an examination is instituted for 
a teacher's certificate, are mental and practical arithmetic, 
English grammar, geography, United States history and gen- 
eral history, reading, spelling, natural philosophy, anatomy 
and physiology, music, drawing, and penmanship. No 
certificate is issued to an aj)plicant whose average of cor- 
rect answers in grammar., geography, or written arithmetic, 
is less than 70 per cent., or whose average on the whole 
number of marks is less than 70 per cent. This is the 
lowest standard of admission to the Normal School. 

There is but one course of study, pursued at option in 
German or English, for German or English positions 
respectively. The peculiarities of this course are : first, 
it is planned with reference to a definite purpose — the 
management and instruction of the lower grades of the Cin- 
cinnati public schools ; second, it is broad in that it aims 
to discuss principles of education and deduce methods from 
them, instead of teaching them empirically; third, it is 
entirely professional. It consists of methods of teaching all 
the subjects pursued in the lower grades of the Cincinnati 
schools, together with the history of education, school- 
management, mental philosopliy, and the philosophy of edu- 
cation. Special attention is given to penmanshij), music, 
and drawing. 

This study is supplemented by practice, each pupil spend- 
ing about .ten weeks — the time varying somewhat with the 
size of the classes — in the management and instruction of one 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 305 

of the ordinary lower grade city schools. This time is spent 
consecutively^ and is designed to familiarize the pupil-teacher 
with the every-day routine of school work in all its phases, 
as far as this can be done in the time allowed. Critic- 
teachers have constant oversight of the work of the pupil- 
teachers, and make daily criticisms and corrections. The 
pupil-teachers are marked weekly in a register, open to 
all, upon the following items: punctuality, promptness, 
personal bearing, neatness (in person and work), correct 
use of language, improvement of time, ability to control, 
ability to instruct, ability to criticise, and abilit}^ to profit 
by criticism. 

A diploma from the school secures to its holder the pre- 
ference over an inexperienced teacher in appointment to a 
position, there being a rule of the Board of Education that 
no such person shall be employed while a graduate of the 
Normal School awaits appointment. It also secures $100 
per annum additional salary until the maximum salary is 
reached. If the graduate teach seven years — the time re- 
quired to arrive at the maximum salary — she will have 
received $550 more for services than if she had secured a 
position without a Normal Schodl diploma. 

The first principal of the school was Miss Sara Dugane, 
called to this position from the City Training School of 
Boston. She resigned at the expiration of the first year, 
and was succeeded by the present incumbent. Miss Delia A. 
Lathroi^, then principal of the City Normal School of Wor- 
cester, Mass. 

The number of pupils in the school for the year 1874-5 
was 78 — 60 English and 18 German. The number enrolled 
in the practice school was 355. There were 41 graduates of 
the Normal School — 35 English and 6 German. Since the 
organization of the school there have been 240 graduates. 

Instructors. — Delia A. Lathrop, Principal; George H. 
Borger, German Instructor; Helen E. Thorndick, English 



306 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Instructor; Clara A. Burr and Pauline Rulison, English 
Critics ; Josephine KnafF, German Critic. 

DAYTON NORMAL SCHOOL. 

The Dayton Normal School was organized in 1869 to sup- 
ply the want of better trained and more skillful teachers 
for the schools of the city. The majority of those seeking 
l^ositions as teachers came directly from the schools, and 
being, in many cases, not even graduates of the High 
School, were found to need further trainiag for the sj^ecial 
work of the teacher than was afforded, by the ordinary 
academic course. 

It was also found that a system of graded schools adapted 
to the Avants of a growing city, must make provision for a 
class of pupils having j^eculiar requirements. A large num- 
ber of children enter school at the earliest possible age, and 
leave it as soon as they are large enough to earn their liv- 
ing. It was apparent that mere text-book instruction did 
but a small part of what was possible in^ the education of 
these pupils, and that there was need of methods of instruc- 
tion which could not be employed with any degree-of success 
by teachers who had not previously studied the principles 
upon which s.uch methods are based,, and acquired some 
degree of skill in their use. 

The organization of a new school district, with a new 
building and a corps of picked teachers, presented a favor- 
able opportunity for the establishment of a normal or 
teachers' training school which would meet this necessity. 

The school began in September, 1869, with a class of 28 
pupils, and was placed under the charge of Col. F. W. 
Parker, the principal of the district, with Miss Emma A. 
H. Brown, as assistant, who gave her entire time to the 
instruction of the pupils in the theory and i:)ractice of 
teaching. 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 307 

The piii^ils were to be not less than sixteen years old. 
They were to pledge themselves to teach in the schools of 
Dayton not less than two years, and their salary for the first 
year after their graduation Avas fixed at $450, the third 
grade. Graduates of the High School were admitted with 
out examination, all others being required to pass a satis- 
factory examination in the common English branches. 

The course of instruction lasted one year, and included a 
department of theory and one of observation and practice. 
The work of the theory department consisted of a general 
review of the academic branches and the study of methods 
of teaching, school economy, and criticism lessons. In the 
department of observation and practice, the jDupils having 
by observation become familiar with the methods of the 
teacher under whose direction they were placed, were put 
in charge of classes, at first under the direction of the regu- 
lar teacher; afterwards, as they developed confidence and 
ability, they were put in entire charge of the room. 

The pupils were divided into two classes, devoting four 
weeks each to theory and practice alternately — one class 
being engaged in theory work while the other was in prac- 
tice. Four rooms of the jDrimary grade were specially set 
apart as practice rooms, and placed in charge of Miss M. 
•J. Brown, a teacher of long experience in teaching these 
grades, under whose oversight the work of the rooms was 
carried on by the normal pupils. When any of these showed 
special fitness for teaching advanced grades, they were given 
opportunity for observation and practice in other rooms of 
the building, under the direction of the regular teacher in 
charge of the room. 

In September, 1871, Colonel F. W. Parker having been 
appointed assistant superintendent of instruction, Miss 
Emma A. H. Brown was made principal of the Normal 
School, being also principal of the district, and Miss M. J. 
Brown continued as critic-teacher in charge of the first, 



308 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

second, and third year rooms, the plan of the school in other 
respects continuing as before. At the close of the school 
year 1872-3, Miss Emma A. H. Brown resigned her position, 
and Mr. Wm. Watkins was appointed principal of the dis- 
trict and also placed in charge of the Normal School. 

This year some radical changes were made in the organi- 
zation of the school. The principal taught the senior class 
of the grammar school, and gave instruction in theory to the 
normal pupils, attention being chiefly given to the revicAV 
of the academic branches, the eighth year class of the gram- 
mar school and the class of normal pupils reciting together 
for this purpose. The practice department was largely re- 
constructed and confined mainly to observation. The critic- 
teacher was placed in charge of a single room of the primary 
grade, and, as occasion called, the normal pupils were dis- 
tributed through the various grammar schools of the city 
for observation and as much practice as there was oppor- 
tunity to obtain. 

One of the reasons for this change in the practice de- 
partment was the objection made by patrons of the grammar 
school to its continuance, the opinion having gained some 
prevalence that the children were retarded in their studies 
by being placed under the instruction of the normal pupils. 
While the truth of this was not admitted by the friends of 
the school, nor was there any evidence of it in the examina- 
tions, yet the Board of Education saw fit to defer to what it 
considered an expression of popular opinion from those di- 
rectly interested, and made the change described as an ex- 
periment. 

The results of the year's work were not such, in the opinion 
of the board, as to justify a repetition of the experiment. It 
was found, that to give proper attention to the work of the 
theory department required the entire time of the principal 
of the Normal School, and that the entire work of super- 
vising and instructing the normal pupils in the department 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 309 

of observation and practice should be placed in the hands of 
a single person specially designated and qualified for that 
puri)ose. Accordingly, at the commencement of the follow- 
ing school year (1874-5), the school was reconstructed by 
appointing Miss Jane W. Blackwood, for some time an assist- 
ant in the Cincinnati Normal School, as principal, and Miss 
Lucy K. Rice, a graduate of the Oswego Normal School, as 
critic-teacher. The princijoal was placed in entire charge 
of the school, and gave the needed instruction in the theory 
department, and the critic-teacher was placed in charge of 
two rooms of the grammar school of the first year grade, 
being responsible for the proper advancement of the children 
in their studies and the supervision and guidance of the 
normal pupils in the work of observation and practice. The 
school still continues under the charge of these two ladies, 
whose work is eminently satisfactory, 

Tlie plan of the school as at present conducted, in addition 
to a general review of the academic branches, aims at giving 
such a degree of mental discipline and familiarity with pro- 
fessional work as will fit the pupils to assume successfully 
the responsible duties of the teacher. They are made 
acquainted with principles of education and methods of 
instruction, are confirmed in habits of accurate study, 
thought, and expression, are taught to be prompt and self- 
reliant in the use of their faculties, and are made acquainted 
with the practical duties of the school room. The entire 
class spend the first half of the year in the work of the 
theory department, in which the pupils are required to be 
proficient before they go into observation and practice. 
The standard fixed for the admission of pupils insures such 
proficiency in the academic branches as enables the greater 
part of the time to be s^TOnt upon professional work. The 
final examination of the pupils for graduation is conducted 
by the city board of examiners, in conjunction with the 
superintendent of instruction, the president of the Board of 



310 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Education, and the committee on teachers and examina- 
tions. Diplomas are given to those who have given evi- 
dence of teaching ability, and have passed a successful 
examination. 

The number of graduates since the organization of the 
school is as follows : 

1809-70 9 

1870-71 13 

1871-72 15» 

1872-73 11 

■ 1873-74 11 

1874-75 8 

Total 71 

Of these, forty-four, or about one-half of all the teachers 
employed, were teaching in the Dayton schools at the close 
of the last school year. 

The results of the establishment of the Normal School 
may be stated briefly as follows : first, the furnishing of a 
much better class of material from which to select teachers ; 
second, a general raising of the standard of attainment and 
efficiency among the teachers; third, the increase of a spirit 
of professional pride and enthusiasm ; and fourth, the main- 
tenance of a thorough and efficient system of primary in- 
struction, impossible without such an auxiliary. 



CLEVELAND CITY NORMAL SCHOOL. 

This school is located in the central part of the city of 
Cleveland, on Eagle street. It was established in August, 
1872, and Alex. Forbes elected principal. The inability of 
Mr. Forbes to accept the position at the time it was ten- 
dered, caused a delay of two years in the opening of the 
school, which did not take place until Sepember, 1874. 

The school is free to all residents of the city between the 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 311 

ages of sixteen and twenty-one. For non-residents and 
those over school age, an annual tuition of $20 is charged. 
It is supported from the public school fund, and is under the 
control of the Board of Education. The pupils are mostly 
graduates from the Cleveland High Schools. 

Only one class has been graduated. This class numbered 
twenty-six members. Twenty-five of them are now engaged 
in the schools of the city of Cleveland, and one in the Col- 
ored High School, Washington, D, C. The average attend- 
ance is about forty. 

The course of study embraces a review of all the branches 
of study in the common schools, and a discussion of methods 
as based on mental philosophy. The pupils also practice 
in actual teaching in the schools. The practice department 
includes the three lowest grades of the primary schools. 
The purpose of the course is to prepare pupils for teachiny, 
not for an}^ particular grade of school work. All vacancies 
occurring in the schools of the city are temiDorarily supplied 
b}' pupils from the Normal School. 

liSiSTRUCTORS. — Alcx. Forbcs, Principal, Miss Julia E. 
Berger and Miss Kate E. Stephan, Critic Teachers. 

THE SANDUSKY TRAINING SCHOOL. 

The Sandusky Training School went into operation in 
September, 1873. It had its origin in the need of profes- 
sional training for teachers. The means at the disposal of 
the Board of Education did not justify the expense inci- 
dent to the establishment of a normal school. The city 
of Sandusky requires about seven new teachers per year, 
eighteen per Cent, of the whole number emj^loyed. It was 
believed that by grouping these persons in one school, 
and placing them for a time under the direction of a skill- 
ful teacher, thoroughly competent to instruct in normal 
principles and methods, much of the evil of this change of 
teachers would be overcome. 



312 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Persons who are candidates for positions as teachers re- 
ceive instruction for one year ; they are then given posi- 
tions as pupil-teachers at the nominal salary of fifteen dol- 
lars per month. At the end of one year's service as pupil- 
teachers, they receive a certificate stating the fact of their 
instruction in normal methods, etc. The salary of the nor- 
mal teacher is paid with the difference between the salaries 
of the pupil-teachers and the average salary of the regular 
teachers. 

After a trial of one year, the board employed an additional 
normal teacher, who has assisted in normal instruction and 
has had charge of the experimental department. 

Graduates of the High School are preferred as candidates 
for the Training School, but others of good qualifications are 
accepted. The year of training is devoted to the study 
of methods and school management. The experimental 
school consists of the four lower grades of the public schools, 
located in a building apart from the other schools. Each 
pupil-teacher keeps her grade an entire year under the 
supervision of a general critic-teacher. 

Persons who have finished the normal course of study are 
preferred in the appointment of teachers. 

The names of the present teachers are Miss Alice Cheno- 
weth, and Miss Hulda M. Gazlay. 



CHAPTER VII. 
TEACHEPwS' INSTITUTES. 

Generous provision for the maintenance of a system of 
common schools has been made, at different times, by the 
General Assembly of Ohio, but legislative foresight has not 
provided adequate means and agencies for the professional 
training of teachers. Normal schools, fostered and sustained 
by state patronage, have never formed a part of the educa- 
tional system of the State. Attempts have been made to 
remedy this radical defect. The history of their failure can 
be found in the chapter on Normal Schools. The imperative 
needs of some agencies by which all teachers, especially 
those who labor in the rural districts, could be made the 
recipients of instruction and training in matters pertaining 
to the responsible duties of their calling, led to the forma- 
tion of teachers' associations, and finally to the employment 
of the Teachers' Institute as the best available aid in this 
kind of educational effort. 

The first association of teachers for mutual improvement 
in the State was organized in Cincinnati in 1822. It was 
probably the second of the kind in the United States. It 
had but a brief existence, more than one-half of its fourteen 
members engaging in other pursuits or removing from the 
city within the year. In 1829, about twenty teachers organ- 
ized " The Western Literary Institute and Board of Educa- 
tion " in that city. The first annual meeting was held in 
1830. In 1831, this association assumed the title of "The 
Western Literary Institute and College of Professional 
21 



314 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Teachers. " The objects of the College, as stated in its pub- 
lished proceedings, Avere, " to promote the cause of education, 
to foster a spirit of intellectual culture and professional skill 
among its members, which will fit them for enlarged useful- 
ness to themselves and their fellow-men, and to establish 
the name and character of a liberal profession. " The plan 
proposed by Avhich these objects were to be accomijlished, 
was thus stated : 

" It is contemplated by the College to form district associations, or 
school institutes, throughout the country, and to have delivered in 
them courses of lectures by persons appointed for the purpose, em- 
bracing subjects of a literary and practical nature, with appropriate 
illustrations of the most successful modes of teaching, and to lay before 
school committees, parents, and teachers, all the important informa- 
tion that can be collected from any source." 

This asspcijition held annual meetings until 1845. It did 
not succeed in esta,blishing a "school institute" in any 
county except Hamilton, in which an association was formed 
that met quarterly or oftener for many years ; but, by its 
discussions and the publication of the addresses delivered at 
its annual meetir^gs, it created a wide-spread sentiment in 
favor of liberal culture, and aroused public attention to the 
necessity of universal education in a republic. It was not 
a teachers' institute, as that term is now applied ; but, as it 
showed the benefits and advantages that might be derived 
from combined action, and awakened an interest in profes- 
sional education among teachers in various sections of the 
^tate, a history of teachers' institutes would be incomplete 
without a statement of the character and aim of the organ- 
ization, and an allusion to the earnest efforts of those be- 
longing to it to create and maintain an esprit de corps 
among the members of the profession in the West. 

In the fall of 1853., a course of lectures and exercises, very 
similar in plan and method to that given for several suc- 
ceeding years in county teachers' institutes, was given to 
the students of the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary, at 



teachers' institutes. 315 

Kirtland, Lake coiint}^ and to such teachers in the vicinity 
as chose to attend. The course was continued two weeks. 
The exercises were conducted by Dr. A. D. Lord, principal 
of the Seminary, assisted by the teachers associated with 
hhn in the management of that institution. A similar 
course was given at the close of the fall term in 1844 — the 
time occupied being one week. 

It is believed that these were all the efforts made previous 
to 1845, aside froiii the formation of teachers' classes in a few 
of the higher institutions of learning and the organization 
of a fcAV local associations of teachers, to provide, in a practi- 
cal way, for normal instruction. However inadequate these 
efforts may have been, and however far they ma}^ have fallen 
short of accomplishing the object intended, they had the 
effect, in many localities, to create a sentiment in favor of 
the improvement of the schools both in town and country, 
and to convince the more thoughtful that such improve- 
ment depended largely upon the employment of teachers 
trained in some manner to do their work intelligently. 
They thus prepared the way for the general adojition of the 
agency to which attention is called in this chapter. 

COUNTY teachers' INSTITUTES. 

A County Teachers' Institute is an association composed 
principally of teachers resident in the same county, or 
it is a meeting held by such an association. The term is 
most frequently used in the latter sense. The organi- 
zation of an institute is perfected by the adoption and 
signing of a constitution and the election of certain ofE- 
cers. The institute generally determines, in committee 
of the whole, the character and amount of the work to 
be undertaken, and quite frequently designates the course 
to be pursued in attempting to secure its accomplishment j 
but it is the usual practice to entrust the arrangement 



316 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

of details and the general management of business affiiirs 
to an executive committee. Annual sessions are now held 
in most counties, varying in length from four days to six 
weeks — four days being the legal minimum. Experienced 
educators are generally employed to conduct the exercises. 
They are assisted, in most instances, by teachers belonging 
to the association. During these sessions, the branches 
of studies pursued in the schools receive a partial review, 
methods of school management and discipline are dis- 
cussed, and methods of instruction presented and eluci- 
dated. In the evening sessions, if any are held, popular 
scientific lectures are delivered, the relations, duties, and 
responsibilities of teachers, pupils, and patrons discussed, 
and the value and importance of education pressed upon 
public attention. 

The first meeting of an association of this kind in Ohio, 
and perhaps in the West, was held in Sandusky, Erie 
county, in September, 1845. The exercises were con- 
ducted by Hon. Salem Town, of Ithaca, N. Y., assisted by 
Dr. A. D./Lord, principal of the Western Reserve Teachers' 
Seminary, and M. F. Cowdery, then an assistant teacher in 
the same institution. Hon. Ebenezer Lane, Rev. L. Howe, 
and other men of influence in Sandusky took an active part 
in the exercises. A marked interest was manifested in the 
proceedings, both by the teachers present and the citizens of 
Sandusky and vicinity. About one hundred teachers were 
in attendance. The second session was held in Chardon, 
Geauga county, in October, 1845. It was conducted by Dr. 
Lord, M. F. Cowdery, and M. D. Leggett. The number in 
attendance was one hundred and fifty. The leading citi- 
zens of the county regarded the institute with great 
favor, and expressed a desire that a similar session 
should be held the following spring. These two sessions 
are worthy of special notice, as they were the first 
successful attempts made in the State to awaken a perma- 



teachers' institutes. 317 

nent interest in normal instruction among the teachers of 
the common schools. They were experiments, and, doubt- 
less, there were serious defects in their management ; but 
their exercises were, in the main, exceedingly interesting 
and profitable. Those who conducted them were zealous 
and energetic, and their names soon became familiar to 
every well-informed teacher in the State. 

In 1846, teachers' institutes were organized and sessions 
held in the counties of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, 
Richland, Trumbull, and Warren. Two sessions were held 
in Geauga county, and two in Lake — one, in the latter 
county, under the auspices of the Western Reserve Teach- 
ers' Seminary. The number in attendance was, in the aggre- 
gate, about one thousand. In his report for the year 1846, 
Hon. Samuel Galloway, Secretary of State, and ex-qfficio 
Superintendent of Common Schools, in referring to these 
institutes, uses the following language : 

" Were this same instrumentality extensively adopted in Ohio, it 
would breathe the spirit of a new creation upon our common school 
system. These associations must tend to promote a professional spirit 
and independence — an enlarged view of the dignity and responsibility 
of the teacher's vocation— ambition to attain the highest standard of 
attainment which may be exhibited by any teacher — imitation of the 
best modes of instruction and discipline, and active co-operation in all 
that is calculated to promote general intelligence. " 

In 1847, institutes were held in the following counties: 
Ashland, Ashtabula, Delaware, Geauga, Hamilton, Lake, 
Medina, Summit, Stark, Trumbull, and Warren. Two in- 
stitutes were held in Summit county, and the counties of 
Stark and Wayne held two joint institutes. 

The State Teachers' Association was organized at Akron, 
Summit county, in December, 1847. The executive commit- 
tee of this Association, in January, 1848, made conditional 
arrangements for holding institutes in one-half of the coun- 
ties in the State the following spring. The propositions of 
the committee were accepted by the following counties : Ash- 



318 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

land, Columbiana, Huron, Licking, Richland, Seneca, 
Stark, Washington, and Wayne. Institutes were held in 
them in March and April. Proposals were issued in the 
summer to hold an institute the succeeding autumn in any 
county where teachers and friends of education would 
co-operate with the committee. These proposals Avere ac- 
cepted by the following counties, and institutes were held 
in them in the autumn: Ashtabula, Champaign, Huron, 
Medina, Miami, Montgomery, Portage, Sandusky, Seneca, 
and Washington. The number in attendance at these 
spring and autumn institutes was, in the aggregate, about 
fifteen hundred. The sessions were one week in length. 

In January, 1848, the executive committee also issued 
proposals " for a course of lectures to teachers, on subjects 
immediately connected Avith their qualifications and duties, 
and the improA'ement of schools, to continue nine weeks, 
and be given in any county of the State Avhere the friends 
of education Avould offer the most liberal inducements to the 
committee for the course." The offer from Huron county, 
pledging nearly five hundred dollars and the use of a suitable 
building, was deemed the most liberal, and the course Avas 
given at NorAvalk in that county. Those employed to de- 
liver the course, Avere M. F. CoAvdery, Lorin AndrcAvs, Prof. 
H. Mandeville, of Hamilton College, N. Y., Prof St. John of 
Western Reserve College, Horace Benton, M. D. Leggett, I. J. 
Allen, J. Hurty, J. B. Howard, G. W. Winchester, and T. W. 
Harvey. Evening lectures were delivered by some of these 
gentlemen, and by others interested in the success of the en- 
terprise. About one hundred and tAventy persons attended 
the course. A similar course was given in Akron during 
the months of September and October. The class numbered 
about sixty. The exercises of both of these sessions Avere 
of unusual interest, and elicited expressions of approval 
from the citizens of the counties in Avhich the courses of 
lectures Avere given, from those in attendance as students, 
and from the press. 



teachers' institutes. 319 

The institutes held in 1845 and 1846 were sustained by 
the voluntary contributions of teachers and friends of pub- 
lic schools. The General Assembly of the State passed an 
act to encourage institutes, February 8, 1847. This act was 
applicable only to the counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, 
Delaware, Erie, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, 
Summit, and Trumbull. By its provisions, the county com- 
missioners of these counties were authorized, but not re- 
quired, to appropriate for their encouragement "the annual 
avails or any part thereof" of the funds created by the in- 
vestment of the excess over five per cent, of the interest re- 
ceived on each county's share of the United States surplus 
revenue fund, distributed to the several states in 1837. 
The amount appropriated was to be " paid over to and ex- 
pended by the county examiners of the proper county, the 
one-half thereof, at least, to the payment of suitable persons 
as instructors and lecturers to such association, and the 
balance to the purchase and support of a suitable common 
school library for the use of such association. " The benefits 
of the institutes were to be enjoyed, without charge for 
tuition, by all teachers of common schools in the county, 
and by any person intending to become a common school 
teacher within twelve months of the holding of a session. 

This act was amended February 24, 1848, by providing 
that " all the money used under the provisions " of the act 
amended " in jxirchasing libraries, shall be used in pur- 
chasing suitable common school libraries " for the common 
school districts in the counties that were in possession of the 
funds named in that act. In 1847 and 1848, institutes 
were held in most of the counties to which the act was appli- 
cable, but the amount of money approj^riated by county 
commissioners for their support can not be ascertained. It 
could not have been very large, however, for neither common 
school nor teachers' libraries are known to have been sus- 
tained in the counties designated during those years. 

The failure of this act to accomplish the purpose intended. 



320 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

led to the passage of an amendatory act, February 16, 1849. 
The county commissioners of the counties named above 
were authorized to appropriate an amount sufficient to 
make up the sum of one hundred dollars, whenever, for 
any cause, the avails of the funds designated in the act 
should be less than that sum. The approjDriation was to be 
made from " any moneys in the county treasur}^ not other- 
Avise appropriated." In case there should not be any 
moneys at the disposal of the commissioners, they were 
authorized to levy a tax for the purpose named. No part of 
the money appropriated could be paid over to the county 
examiners legally, except upon the petition of at least 
forty practical teachers, who should declare their intention 
to attend the institutes in their respective counties, and 
who were residents of the county in which the application 
was made. The payment and appropriation were to be 
■approved and recommended by the board of examiners, 
and before any part of the appropriation could be legally 
paid over, a sum equal to at least one-half of the sum for 
which they petitioned was to be raised by the teachers. 

The provisions of these acts were extended to all the 
counties im the State by an amendatory act passed Feb- 
ruary 24, 1849. A large number of institutes were held in 
1840 and 1850. The number of teachers in attendance in 
1850 was about 1500, but the attendance in 1849 can not 
be ascertained, as no reports were published. 

An act supplementary to the acts mentioned above, was 
passed April 5, 1861. It provided that whenever a 
teachers' i-nstitute should be organized by the teachers 
of two or more contiguous counties, the count}^ commis- 
sioners of each of those counties should be authorized 
to appropriate for its use a sum not exceeding one 
hundred dollars in any one year — the money appro- 
priated to be paid over to the committee of the insti- 
tute upon the petition of at least twenty practical 
teachers, residents of the county in which the appropria- 



TEACHERS INSTITUTES. 



321 



tion was made. The officers of these joint institutes 
were required to report to the school examiners of the 
proper county, at the close of the session, the names of the 
teachers in attendance and the amount paid for the use of 
the institute, and to the State Commissioner of Common 
Schools, within thirty days thereafter, an account of the 
moneys received, the sources from which they were derived, 
how they were expended, and such, other matters relating 
to the institute as he might require. 

These acts were in force, without amendment, until 1864. 
In 1851, forty-one institutes were held, with an attend- 
ance of 3,251 ; in 1852, thirty-one, with an attendance of 
2,824; in 1853, thirty-eight, with an attendance of 3,738; in 
1854, forty-one, with an attendance of 2,288. The number 
attending in six counties was not reported in 1854. In 
1855 and 1856, the State Commissioner made no report of 
statistics relating to institutes. The expenses of the sessions 
from 1845 to 1856, inclusive, are not given in any published 
reports. It is known, however, that during this period, 
institutes were sustained mainly by the voluntary contri- 
butions of teachers, the count}^ commissioners of but few 
counties making any appropriations whatever for their 
encouragement. The following table shows the number of 
institutes held from 1857 to 1864 inclusive, the attendance, 
the expenses, and the sources from which funds for their 
suppcrt were derived : 



Year. 



1857 
18.58 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1864 



No. 


Attend- 




ance. 


21 


1,603 


18 


1,829 


14 


1,591 


19 


1,294 


10 


791 


22 


1,689 



Expenses. 



$2,099 00 
2,327 00 
2,324 34 
2,444 50 
1,789 89 
2,253 95 



Amount received from 



Counties. 



p521 
325 
305 
500 
25 



Member.s. 



?1,569 00 
1,968 00 
1,946 60 
1,856 50 
1,590 39 
1,783 75 



Other 
.sources. 



$9 00 
34 00 
72 74 
87 75 
174 50 
470 20 



322 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

In 1862 and 1863, the State Commissioner did not report 
institute statistics. The number of sessions held in each of 
these years was about twenty — the probable aggregate at- 
tendance in 1863, about one thousand. In 1864, tlie amount 
received from counties was included in that received from 
'^ other sources." 

An act for the reorganization and maintenance of the 
common schools of the State, was passed March 14, 1853. 
An act amendatory thereof, passed March 4, 1864, provided 
that each male applicant for a certificate of qualifications 
to teach, should pay to the board of county examiners a 
fee of fifty cents, and each female applicant a fee of thirty- 
five cents. The moneys received were to be paid over 
quarterly to the county treasurer, with a statement of the 
number of ai)plicants, male and female, examined. The 
balance which remained after paying the necessary travel- 
ing expenses of the examiners, was to be set apart as a 
fund for the support of teachers' institutes. No part of 
this fund could be legally disbursed except upon the peti- 
tion of at least forty practical teachers, residents of the 
county, who should declare their intention to attend a 
session proposed to be held. The auditors and treasurers 
of the counties united were required to appropriate money 
from this fund for the support of a joint institute, upon the 
petition of at least thirty practical teachers. The offi- 
cers of a joint institute were required to report to the 
State Commissioner only. This act was amended March 
28, 1865. The amount to be drawn from the institute fund 
for the payment of the traveling expenses of county exam- 
iners in any one quarter, was limited to one-third of the 
amount collected and paid over by the board in that quarter, 
and the examination fee of female apj^licants for certificates 
was increased to fifty cents. 

No essential changes were made in the laws resjiecting 
institutes from 1865 to 1873. The institute fund was suffi- 



teachers' institutes. 323 

ciently large, in most counties, to defray the necessary 
expenses of a session one week in length each year ; but 
aimual sessions were not held in all the counties, and they 
have not been held in some of them since institutes were 
first recognized by law as valuable aids in educational effort. 
In some counties, however, they were not only held annual- 
ly, but were continued three or four weeks; in others, semi- 
annual sessions were held. 

The school laws of the State were codified in 1873. The 
appropriations made by county commissioners had been so 
small — a large majorit}^ of these officials neglecting or refus- 
ing to make any appropriations whatever for institute pur- 
poses — that the law authorizing them was repealed. The 
new code recognized the value and importance of institute 
work by authorizing any public-school teacher to dismiss 
the school under his charge for the Aveek during which an 
institute might be held, without forfeiture of wages, if at 
least four da3's of the week should be spent in attending 
the session. This privilege was not extended to teachers 
in a city district of the first-class — a district having a popu- 
lation of 10,000 or more — unless the consent of the board 
of education should be given^ nor to teachers in a union or 
graded school, unless a majority of the teachers in the dis- 
trict should be in favor of such dismission. The act also 
provided that when no institute should be held in a county 
within two years, the State Commissioner might cause one 
to be held in such county ; and he was authorized to defray 
the exjienses of the session out of the county institute 
fund. The officers of an institute were required to give 
their bond for the faithful disluirsement of the money to 
come into their hands, and for making a report to the 
State Commissioner, within thirty days after the close of 
the session, giving the number of teachers in attendance, 
the names of the instructors and lecturers, an account 
of the moneys received and expended, and such other in- 



324 



EDUCATION IN OHIO. 



formation relating to the institute as might be required. 
The penalty for failure to report was fixed at fifty dollars, to 
be recovered in an action on this bond. This law is now in 
force. 

The following table contains the statistics of institutes 
from 1865 to 1875 inclusive : 





No. 


Attend- 
ance. 


Expenses. 


Amount received from 


Year. 


Inst. Fund. 


Members. 


Other 
sources. 


1865 


26 

37 

45 

57 

97 

92, 

69' 

70: 

65' 

78 

92 


1,652 
2,590 
3,619 
5,066 
6,301 
6,487 
7,158 
6,836 
6,340 
8,579 
10,125 


$3,242 38 
6,118 11 
8,563 86 
12,566 93 
10,369 33 
15,021 38 ' 
14,423 78 
16,262 86 
12,590 72 ! 
15,318 81 
18,988 79 


$1,241 93 

4,724 42 

6,031 21 

9,053 33 

7,191 06 ' 

10,389 71 

10,127 13 ! 

10,221 67 

9,925 97 ! 

11,792 16 

16,097 75 


$2,540 58 
1,224 96 
2,675 86 
3,145 00 
2,769 66 
3,242 85 
2,730 34 
4,415 51 
2,248 75 
3,332 33 
2,204 49 


$343 32 


1866 


529 84 


1867 

1SH8 


894 25 
1,259 88 


1S69 , 


888 40 


1870 

1S71 

1872 


1,357 54 

2,051 50 
1,262 33 


1S73 


764 44 


1S74 


(599 41 


1875... 


593 05 







The laws to which reference has heretofore been made, 
were applicable only to county teachers' institutes. Be- 
sides these, institutes organized and sustained by township 
and other local associations have occasionally been held in 
different sections of the State. These have rarely continued 
longer than two days — the usual practice being to limit the 
exercises to what may be accomplished in a single day. No 
statistics relating to these local institutes have been pub- 
lished in any official reports; but enough is known of 
them and their proceedings to warrant the assertion that 
they have boen important auxiliaries to the officially recog- 
nized organizations for normal work. They have usually 
been conducted by prominent teachers in the locality, 
though quite frequently lectures on subjects of general 
interest, by leading educators, profes.sors in colleges, or gen- 
tlemen of culture belonging to other professions, have formed 



teachers' institutes. 325 

a i^art of their exercises. Most generally, however, the time 
has been spent in discussing methods of instruction in the 
branches of study j^ursued in the schools, and in the consid- 
eration of ways and means best calculated to secure the 
most desirable results in the management and discipline of 
ungraded schools. 

At the close of the fall terms of some academical institu- 
tions, a week has been devoted to addresses on educational 
topics, lectures on the theory and practice of teaching, and 
reviews of studies. The principals of these schools, assisted 
by their associates, have usually conducted the exercises or 
taken a lively interest in them — c|uite frequently assuming 
the entire responsibility of their management, neither ask- 
ing nor receiving any compensation for their services 
Teachers residing in the vicinity of these institutions have 
been invited to avail themselves of the advantages and 
privileges of these sessions. 

CITY AND GRADED-SCHOOL INSTITUTES. 

In the laws relating to county teachers' institutes, there 
were no special provisions for the support of institutes in 
cities, or for joint institutes for graded schools. The more 
intelligent members of city boards of education, however, 
were led, at an early date in the history of graded schools, 
to think that valuable results would follow the holding of 
city institutes during the first week of the school year. The 
first institutes of this kind were held in Cincinnati and 
Cleveland. At the commencement of the fall term of the 
public schools of Cincinnati, in 1866, all the teachers em- 
ployed in them spent a week in listening to the suggestions 
of the superintendent and principals respecting methods 
of instruction and management, and the details of work re- 
quired during the school year, and in such other exercises 
as were thought profitable. The expe'riment was so success- 
ful, that since 1866 the first week of the school year has 



326 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

been devoted by the Cincinnati teachers to work of a simi- 
lar character. Eminent educators and noted teachers of 
special branches have been employed to assist the superin- 
tendent in giving instruction. 

In 1867, the Board of Education of the city of Cleveland 
made arrangements to hold an institute at the commence- 
ment of the fall term of the city schools. The results 
were so marked and valuable, that the institute has been 
continued as a feature of the city school system. At first, 
much of the instruction was given by those who had won 
enviable reputations as teachers in other cities or schools ; 
but for the past few years, the superintendent has been 
assisted only by those employed as teachers or principals in 
the schools under his charge. 

Cities of smaller size than Cincinnati and Cleveland have 
held city institutes, usually, if not always, during the 
first week of the school year. It is believed that no gener- 
ous, well-informed patron has objected to this disposition of 
the time that would otherwise have been spent in prac- 
tical school work, although the wages of teachers have 
been paid for the Aveek spent in the institute, and the 
expenses of each sesssion have been defrayed from city 
school funds. 

In the spring of 1870, the North-eastern Ohio Teachers' 
Association recommended a course of study for adoption by 
the boards of education of the cities and towns represented 
in the Association. This course was the matured result of 
careful deliberation, and the recommendation for its adop- 
tion was received with favor. Boards of education soon 
modified their courses of study— in no instance, perhaps, 
adopting the course recommended as a whole, but making 
such slight changes in it as seemed desirable — so that 
throughout north-eastern Ohio the grading of the schools 
and the courses of study pursued in them were essentially 
the same. It seemed very desirable that the teachers in the 



teachers' institutes. 327 

different grades should know what they were expected to 
accomplish each term, and that they should be instructed 
in the use of methods best calculated to produce the most 
satisfactory results. An arrangement was therefore made 
by the Association to hold a union graded-school institute 
in Cleveland during the last week of the summer vacation 
in 1870 and the first week of the coming school year. At 
the commencement of the session, the teachers were divided 
into classes — four of these composed of teachers in primary 
and grammar school grades, and four of teachers in high 
schools. The work of each grade was thoroughly and sys- 
tematically presented, much attention being given to the 
elucidation of methods. The expenses Avere borne by the 
boards of education interested. A detailed report of this 
institute was published in the report of the State Commis- 
sioner of Common Schbols for the year 1870. 

The success of these attempts to provide a substitute for 
systematic normal instruction for teachers in graded schools, 
occasioned the insertion of two important sections in the 
school code of 1873. Section 118 provides that the board 
of education of any city district of the first class may make 
provision for holding annually an institute, to continue not 
less than four days, for the improvement of the teachers un- 
der its control. The expenses are to be paid out of the city 
institute fund or other city school funds. The institute 
fund is created by requiring each applicant for a certificate 
of qualifications to teach in the schools of the city to ])ay a 
fee of fifty cents. Section 119 provides that, '' whenever a 
teachers' association, formed for the professional improve- 
ment of the teachers of several adjacent counties, shall or- 
ganize a teachers' institute for the specific purpose of pro- 
viding for the professional instruction of the teachers of the 
graded schools in those counties, any and all boards of edu- 
cation of city districts of the first and second class, village 
districts, and special districts Avithin said counties, shall 



328 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

have power to contribute to such institutes from the insti- 
tute and other funds under their control, and to permit the 
teachers employed by them to attend the same for one week 
without forfeiture of Avages." The Cleveland experiment 
has not been repeated ; but it is to be hoped that it will be 
repeated, in the near future, in various sections of the State. 

EEMARKS. 

The most active and enthusiastic Avorkers in teachers' in- 
stitutes have felt from the first the needs of some legislation 
by which the value and efficiency of these educational 
helps may be increased, and the sphere of their usefulness 
enlarged. The impossibility of securing the services of ex- 
perienced instructors and lecturers has, in many instances, 
prevented the holding of sessions at times convenient for 
teachers, and occasionally the exercises have not been of 
such a character as to be of much benefit to teachers in un- 
graded schools. The State Commissioner has frequently not 
been able to attend even one-half of the institutes held 
during his term of office — many of them being held simul- 
taneously, and those succeeding each other being located 
at points widely separated. Their exercises have not been 
thoroughly classified and systematized, and all attempts to 
secure uniformity of method in their conduct have been 
futile. Quite frequently, valuable time has been consumed 
in arranging a programme or in the discussion of irrelevant 
matters. 

Various plans have been suggested to remedy these de- 
fects. In 1864, the State Commissioner was requested by 
the State Teachers' Association, at the annual meeting, to 
select one or more men, thoroughly competent to conduct 
institutes, who should devote themselves to the work 
of their organization and management. In his report to 
the General Assembly, the Commissioner stated that he 



teachers' institutes. 329 

could not find any competent person who was willing to 
undertake the work and depend wholly upon institutes for 
supi^ort. He therefore recommended that an appropriation 
be made to aid in supporting a corps of institute instructors. 
It was thought that $3,000, in connection with the sum 
available from the institute fund, would keep three able and 
efficient educators constantly in the field. The appropria- 
tion was not made. The recommendation was repeated in 
the report for 1865, and in several subsequent reports ; but 
an institute corps has not yet been appointed, neither has 
the General Assembly ever made any direct appropriation 
to encourage this the only agency employed in the State, 
under the sanction of law, for the professional training of 
teachers. 



22 



CHAPTER VIII. 
SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 

This subject will be treated under the following heads : 

1. State Supervision. 

2. County Supervision. 

3. City and Town Supervision.* 

STATE SUPERVISION. 

It may justly be said, that in the year 1837 common school 
education in the United States took a new departure. In 
that year, there entered upon the discharge of the impor- 
tant duties of superintendent of education in two states, 
two remarkable men. On the 31st of March, Samuel Lewis 
, was elected by the legislature, Superintendent of Common 
Schools for Ohio, an office created four days before ; and on 
the 29th of June following, Horace Mann was elected Secre- 
tary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. Though 
Massachusetts may rightly claim for herself the larger part 
of the honors of her great son, it has been the happy fortune 
of Ohio to possess exclusively as her own the fame and good 
works of Samuel Lewis, and to divide with her sister state 
the glory of Horace Mann's great fame. 



^Although "Township Supervision" has been authorized ever since the passage of the 
law of 1853, if not longer, it has not been thought necessary to enter upon any history of 
it in a sketch so brief as this, and with so few facts in possession. It wijl be sufficient to 
say, In a note, that township boards have still the same authority to employ a superinten- 
dent of schools that the boards of cities and towns jjossess. This authority has, however, 
been exercised only to a very limited extent, but, where it has, so far as results have been 
reported, they have been, in almost every case, highly favorable to the success of the 
scheme. 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 331 

Both men, although of diverse characteristics, had ex- 
traordinary qualifications for the work upon which they 
Avere about to enter. Both possessed an untiring energy, 
and both were prompted by an intense enthusiasm in the 
cause of the education of the whole people. Though the 
qualities of their minds were so different, they were both 
powerful and persuasive speakers. Mr. Mann had every ad- 
vantage in the way of education and general culture, and 
these advantages he improved with the happiest results. 
His spirit was fiery, and he was filled with an unquailing, 
aggressive courage. His eloquence possessed the highest 
attributes of oratorical style, and he put into it all the best 
qualities of his heart and mind. He did not so much seek 
to convince by his logic, as to stimulate to noble deeds by 
constantly bearing aloft a standard of true manhood. No 
wrong could so securely intrench itself as to withstand the 
vehement tide of his indignant denunciation, and his scorn 
for mean thinking and doing was withering. He showed 
Massachusetts, the earliest home of the American common 
school, how miserably inadequate were the notions of her 
people as to the true scope of an education that should equal 
the exigencies of American citizenship. He showed that 
education, to be of any great worth, must include more than 
reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography ; that it must 
transcend all mere text-book lore, and have a moral side to 
it, incomparably more important than the intellectual. 

Samuel Lewis enjoyed none of the educational advantages 
of his eminent co-laborer, his school training having ended 
before he was ten 5'ears old. Otherwise, he was possessed 
of an excellent capital with which to begin life — a healthy 
mind of great original power and a thoroughly sound moral 
nature. He was essentially a man of the people, self-made 
and well-made. He was a born orator, naturally possessing 
those traits of mind which enable a speaker to convince and 
move the people. If the true standard of eloquence is what 



332 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

it accomplishes, then he might well have taken his place 
among orators of the highest rank. Less impassioned than 
Mann, he Avas not less earnest ; less vehement, he was not 
less courageous; possessing less beauty and elevation of 
literary style, he was not less convincing and persufxsive — 
nay, his very simplicity was inwrought with a wondrous 
power, and was far more efiective with the people among 
whom he labored, than would have been the most finished 
rhetoric. In addition to these great qualities, his keenness 
of practical insight has seldom h^en surpassed. 

Before his election to the superintendency, Mr. Lewis bad 
been well known for the valuable work he had done in the 
cause of education in various directions. He had made sev- 
eral addresses before the Western College of Teachers, which 
were characterized by their practical features. He was also 
instrumental, as the trusted friend of William AVoodward, 
of Cincinnati, in obtaining from him, for the benefit of poor 
youth, that large bequest upon which Woodward College 
was founded, and which is now a part of the consolidated 
fund used for the support of the Cincinnati High Schools. 
In all his educational enterprises, Mr. Lewis had the hearty 
sympathy and active co-operation of Nathan Guilford, the 
author of the school law of 1825, and to whose zeal Ohio is so 
much indebted for the wase and stable foundation of her 
common school system. But it Avas Alfred Kelly, a man 
eminent as a legislator, and of the very highest capacity in 
business affairs, who first introduced into the General As- 
sembly a resolution instructing the committee on common 
schools to inquire into the expediency of creating the ofifice 
of Superintendent of Common Schools. \ 

The duties of the State Superintendent seem not to have 
been fixed by statute when Mr. LcAvis first entered upon 
the discharge of the duties of the ofiice, but, by the law of 
] 838, they were defined as follows : 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 333 

" 1. To collect and report annually to the Legislature, information 
upon the common schools of the State, especially the whole numher of 
children and their attendance at school ; the number, quality, and dur- 
ation of schools; the qualification of teachers, and the amount paid for 
their wages ; the numher of school-houses and the exiienditure there- 
for ; the sources and condition of school funds ; and whatever else he 
might suppose the public interest required. 

" 2. To ascertain and report the condition and value of all the school 
lands in the State, with the amount of the different school funds due 
to each township from lands or interest ; and to secure the immediate 
location of school lands as authorized by an act of Congress passed 
May 20, 1826, entitled "an act to appropriate lands for the support of 
schools in certain townships and fractional townships not before pro- 
vided for." 

" 3. To furnish suitable forms to school officers and teachers for all re- 
turns and registers required by law, and to deliver, on the 15th of 
December annually, to the Auditor of the State, an enumeration of all 
the white children between the age of four and twentj^-one years, to 
serve as the basis of the apportionment of school funds according to 
law. 

"4. To take an account of all funds and property given in any way for 
the support of education, and report the same annually to the Legis- 
lature ; and for this purpose, to exercise all needful rights of visitation, 
and to summon the interposition of the prosecuting attorneys of the 
counties. 

"5. To publish bi-monthly during the year 1838-9, an official school 
journal, called the " Ohio Common School Director.' " •■■ 

He made his first official report to the legisLature, in Jan- 
uary, 1838. In this report lie gives an account of his labors, 
and sets forth his views on the whole subject of common 
school education. His work was severe enough. Almost 
all his journeying was done on horseback, most of it over 
bad roads and through a sparsely settled country. After 
averaging twenty-six miles per day of travel, he spent, as 
he tells us in one of his letters, three or four hours a day in 
conversation on school matters, and frequently spoke, in ad- 
dition to all this, at night. Much of his work, too, was done 
with the drawback of impaired health. Everywhere, as he 



-Taylor's Ohio School System, page 188. 



334 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

says, men agreed with him, applauded his speeches, but did 
nothing. The first year of his superintendency he traveled 
more than 1,500 miles, and visited three hundred schools 
and forty county seats. Much time and zeal were also 
devoted to the organization of associations of teachers. 

In reading over his reports, one is surprised at the breadth 
and comprehensiveness of the views entertained by this 
pioneer in western education. Nothing seemed to escape 
his attention ; and almost all the plans for the improve- 
ment of common schools, since advocated, were distinctly 
enunciated by him, 

Mr. Lewis's sympathies were always with the poor, and 
he heartily enlisted in the scheme of establishing a system 
of schools which should give their children a fair chance 
in life with the children of the rich. He was utterly op- 
posed to the idea of having one kind of education for those 
favored by fortune and another kind for those who earn 
their bread by the sweat of the brow. He labored not only 
to make the schools entirely free, but to make them good 
enough for all. "For," said he, "a school not good enough 
for the rich will never excite much interest with the poor. 
They will receive its benefits, if at all, with jealousy ; and 
the effect Avill be to build still higher the wall that separates 
the sympathies of different classes of society." 

Like Horace Mann, Mr. Lewis placed high among the 
functions of the common school the duty of instructing 
youth in sound principles of Christian morality. He seem- 
ed, too, to have little faith in the final success of the schools, 
unless teaching was made a profession. 

He advocated such an education for women " as would be 
adapted to their sphere in life, and be likely to elevate their 
views, refine their tastes, and cultivate that delicacy of sen- 
timent and propriety of conduct, Avhich the good of the 
country, no less than their own happiness requires." He 
recommended the appointment of county superintendents 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 335 

to look after school property, to visit all the districts, 
examine teachers, and settle controversies. He recognized', 
also, the value of libraries as instrumentalities for educating 
the people, and recommended the establishment of a free 
library in every township, the State giving a certain 
amount on condition that the township should raise an 
equal sum. He pointed out, too, the advantages of union 
graded schools for towns and cities, years before anything of 
the kind had been attempted in the State outside of Cincin- 
nati ; and township high schools were one of his favorite 
measures for promoting educational progress. 

His eye seemed to cover the whole field. He was not 
satisfied to restrict his attention to the organization of a 
school system, and the furnishing of the necessary means 
for carrying it into operation. Methods of instruction did 
not escape his animadversion. He condemned most forcibly 
that exclusive reliance on the memory, to the neglect of the 
cultivation of the reasoning poAvers, then almost universal 
with teachers in all classes of schools. 

Finally, Mr. Lewis still further exhibited the breadth and 
comprehension of his educational views by his advocacy of a 
State University and a State Normal School. 

Though the energy, the eloquence, and the rare good 
sense of Mr. Lewis were not wasted on the people, but were 
the good seed which have germinated into what is best in 
our school system, they failed to move the average legislator 
of his time, either into enthusiasm or liberality. He could 
not conquer those three formidable foes of progress, avarice, 
ignorance, and the small politician. He labored still harder, 
if possible, the second year than the first, but the opposition 
to the school law of 1838 (chieflv the work of his own hands), 
and to the superintendency, was growing, though a resolu- 
tion, introduced into the legislature in this year of his 
administration to abolish his office, failed. 

In his third annual rejx)rt, December 13, 1839, the Su- 



336 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

perintendent, though he had been elected for five years, 
announced his determination to retire from all official con- 
nection with the schools. He had gone into the office on a 
salary of $500, which was increased by the law of 1838 to 
$1,200. It took his whole salary, as he informs us, to pay 
his expenses, leaving him nothing for his labor, for which, 
indeed, nothing was expected. After Mr. Lewis's retirement 
there was much wrangling over the question of continuing 
the office, in both the Senate and the House, which finally 
ended, March 23, 1840, in merging it with that of Secretary 
of State. 

Mr. Lewis left the office with high honor. By his investiga- 
tions of the management of school lands, he had saved enough 
money to the State to pay his salary many times over — in- 
deed, his friends claimed that $60,000 had been thus secured. 
The number of schools during his three years of service had 
risen from 4,336 to 7,295 ; the number of scholars from 150,- 
402 to 254,612 ; the amount paid for tuition from $317,730 to 
$701,091; and the cost of school-houses from $61,890 to 
$206,445. 

Lnmediately on Mr. Lewis's retirement from office, the 
interest in common schools began to abate. The Secretaries 
of State who followed him, and upon whom the duties of 
sujDerintendent devolved, were generally able men, and 
manifested a large interest in the people's schools. But it 
could not be expected that they could, with their other du- 
ties pressing upon them, do much more than to urge upon 
the legislature such measures as would carry out Mr. Lewis's 
great designs. 

Secretary Trevitt advocated the establishment of normal 
schools ; and Secretary Sloane recommended, for the purpose 
of forming a nucleus for a free library in each township of 
the State, the purchase of the " School Library," a work of 
35 volumes published under the auspices of the Board of 
Education of Massachusetts. But the interval of 1839 to 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 337 

1845 was a gloomy one for the schools, their decline during 
this period heing fearfully rapid. In the election, in 1844, 
of Samuel Galloway to the office of Secretary, the State se- 
cured the services of a man of immense activity and enthu- 
siasm. He fully realized the importance of that part of 
of his duties involved in the superintendence of the common 
schools. He thus speaks of the condition of those schools in 
his first annual report, January 15, 1845 : 

"No other interest of the State has been so fearfully neglected; and 
any other visited with such chilling indifference, would have hope- 
lessly perished. The common school system was started under favor- 
able auspices, and enjoyed, during the earlier stages of its infancy, the 
kind protection of ' nursing fathers and nursing mothers,' but, for a 
a few years past, it lias been doomed to an orphanage — gradually deep- 
ening in the bitterness of its destitution. Contemned by many, neg- 
lected by all, and actively patronized by but few, it must sink into 
insignificance, unless it is speedily quickened by the impulses of a new 
life, and be enabled to manifest its proper value and power, in the 
utility and splendor of its achievements." 

Secretary Galloway, " recognizing the need of an educa- 
tional revival, determined to emjDloy all the legitimate 
agencies of his office in its accomplishment. He was ably 
seconded by influential men in various parts of the State, 
and was most creditably successful. He conducted a wide- 
spread correspondence, attended educational meetings, de- 
livered public addresses, sent circulars to county auditors 
and other local school officers, and reported to the legisla- 
ture for 1845 a more prosperous condition of the public 
schools than had been exhibited in any previous year, ex- 
cepting 1839."* 

Throughout the whole of his six years of the secretary- 
ship, he remained the active and earnest friend of the 
schools, not sparing himself in his efforts to bring them up 
to a higher standard of efficiency. That these labors were 
productive of great results, is within the knowledge of all 



-Taylor's Ohio School System, p. 356. 



338 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

acquainted with the school history of the period. Educa- 
tors caught the infection of his fiery zeal, and educational 
activity manifested itself throughout the State, and in vari- 
ous ways. 

It was, however, deeply impressed upon the teachers of 
Ohio that the best results of the school system were not to 
be reached until that system should have a man at its head 
who should devote his time and energies exclusively to its 
interests. To this end, they urged upon the legislature, 
time and again, the restoration of the office of superinten- 
dent ; and were ably supported in their efforts by the sev- 
eral Secretaries of State. After years of waiting, they aban- 
doned all hope of legislative aid, and determined themselves 
to take up the burden the State should have borne. The 
State Teachers' Association in December, 1850, resolved to 
put an agent in the field to remedy, as far as might be, the 
dereliction of the State. In Lorin Andrews, then superin- 
tendent of the schools of Massillon, the Association found a 
man with the earnest missionary spirit, the clear head, un- 
faltering courage, and sympathetic power to move the peo- 
ple, necessary to make the enterprise a success. Mr. An- 
drews entered upon his work at once, directing his labors 
chiefly to the extension of the union graded school system, 
and the establishment and conduct of teachers' institutes ; 
in both of which interprises he was eminently successful. 
After three years' service, he resigned his position, and was 
succeeded by Dr. A. D. Lord of Columbus, who added the 
duties of state agent of the Association to those of editor of 
the Journal of Education. Dr. Lord filled the place accept- 
ably for one year. The salaries of both these gentlemen — 
which were quite liberal for the times — were paid by a tax 
imposed upon the teachers by themselves. 

It is not deemed necessary to advert with special emphasis 
to the act passed the 22nd of March, 1850, for the creation of 
a State Board of Public Instruction. This act provided for 



SCHOOL SUPEEVISION. 339 

a board, to consist of five members, to hold their offices for 
one, two, three, four, and five years respectively — one to be 
styled the State Superintendent of Common Schools, to act 
as chairman of the board, reside and keep his office at the 
seat of government, and perform the usual duties of such 
an officer ; the others to be styled District Superintendents, 
and one in each year to act as State Superintendent by rota- 
tion. This was one of the wisest acts ever adopted by the 
General Assembly in the way of school legislation, but it 
Avas passed so late in the session that no appointments were 
made, as prescribed by the act, and for that reason it never 
went into operation. If the appointments had been made, 
and the law executed in a wise and liberal spirit, it is not 
too much to say the Ohio school system would have stood 
among the foremost of the country. 

The school law of 1853 renewed the office of State Super- 
intendent of Schools, under the title of State School Com- 
missioner, and Mr. H. H. Barney of Cincinnati, was elected 
to the office in the fall of the same year. 

Mr. Barney was largely occupied, during his administra- 
tion, in executive work, and in explaining for the benefit 
of school officers the meaning of the new law and the best 
methods of executing it, giving special consideration to 
those features of the law which differed from those of pre- 
ceding acts. Of these, district school libraries were the 
most important, and gave most care. The distribution of 
good books over the whole State is an object of importance 
as an educational agency second only to the schools them- 
selves. That district school libraries did much good can not 
be questioned ; but had the law provided for township libra- 
ries instead, as recommended by Samuel Lewis, there can 
be but little doubt that the results would have been far 
more satisfactory, and the permanency of the law have been 
secured. No adequate provision was made under the law 
for taking care of the books, and the few that came to the 



340 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

rural sub-districts one year, were scattered and gone by the 
time the next year's supply came to" hand. This arose from 
the difficulty of finding a suitable place in each sub-district 
for a library, and a qualified person to take charge of it. In 
addition to this, many of the books were never called for at 
the office of the county auditors, and others remained un- 
used in the hands of the township clerks. The fate 
of this feature of the law, with all these defects and 
difficulties hanging about it, notwithstanding its ex- 
cellent design, Avas preordained. Mr. Barney decided, at an 
early period in his administration, that the books for cities, 
might be collected into one library, instead of being scattered 
among the several districts. Boards acting on this wise de- 
cision, then formed collections of books, that have been the 
foundation for those noble institutions in cities, called pub- 
lic libraries, and which are doing so much for the culture of 
the people. 

Not long after Mr. Barney had entered upon the duties of 
his office, decided hostility began to exhibit itself in the 
legislature against -many of the most valuable features of 
the new law, the commissionership among them. He was 
indefatigable in his efforts to prevent the passage of any 
amendment that would embarrass the successful working of 
the act. In these efforts, with the aid of educators, and 
the petitions of the people from all parts of the State that 
the law should be left untouched, he was completely suc- 
cessful. 

By the time Mr. Barney had fairly established himself in 
his new position, he had so far secured the confidence of 
educators in his ability and prudence, that the agent of the 
State Teachers' Association was withdrawn from the field, 
as being no longer necessary to the interests of the schools. 

Rev. Anson Smyth, the successor of Mr. Barhe}^ (1856-62), 
devoted much time and attention to the selection of books 
for the school libraries (a very delicate task, requiring much 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 341 

judgment and literar}' culture), and to their distribution. 
But, notwithstanding his endeavors in this direction, the 
legislature, after suspending the law providing a tax for 
library purposes, and then restoring it for a year, finally re- 
pealed it altogether. He advocated normal schools, and 
pressed the importance of teachers' institutes wpon the at- 
tention of educators. But, while believing one of the great- 
est defects of our educational system to be the want of a 
more thorough supervision of the schools, and that the elec- 
tion of county superintendents would be the most practical 
way of supplying this want, he had doubts whether the 
difficulties of securing competent persons to fill the office 
and of Iceeping the selection out of party politics, were not 
altogether insurmountable. 

During his term of office Commissioner Smyth entered 
into a correspondence with leading educators and other 
prominent citizens throughout tlie country, inquiring as to 
their views on the propriety and feasibility of connecting 
military instruction with the public school system. A ma- 
jority of the correspondents seemed favorable to the under- 
taking. Without expressing a decided opinion of his own, 
the Commissioner was inclined to favor the giving of such 
instruction in the schools of the cities and large towns. 
But, except in a few schools, nothing was attempted, or, if 
attempted, persevered in for any considerable time. 

Mr. Smyth favored restricting pupils to a much more lim- 
ited number of studies than Avas then imposed on them in 
most schools ; and in the last year of his term, he attempted 
by correspondence to ascertain the opinions of educators on 
the subject. As was to have been anticipated, their answers 
disclosed a wide diversity of views. The discussion was one 
of great interest, involving as it did to a very large extent 
the whole philosophy of education ; but the movement re- 
sulted in no important modification of courses of study any- 
where. 



342 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Mr. C. W. H. Cathcart, of Dayton, who was elected State 
Commissioner in 1862, resigned his office after occupying it 
nine months, and made no report of his work. Governor 
Tod appointed Mr. E. E. White of Columbus, to fill the un- 
expired term. Mr. White entered upon the discharge of his 
duties November 11, 1863, at a time when the schools were 
greatly affected by the war then raging. A large number 
of teachers had been drawn by patriotic impulses from their 
school-rooms to the field, and their places had necessarily to 
be filled by teachers of less ability and experience. The 
levies, too, for school purposes for the year 1863, in conse- 
quence of the generally disturbed condition of the public 
mind, had been made very low, and the poorer districts were 
much hampered for want of funds. The new Commissioner 
at once set to work to restore the schools, as far as practica- 
ble, to their former prosperous condition. He showed in his 
first annual report, that while the youth of school age had 
increased but 14 per cent, in the decade from 1853 to 1863, 
the number of scholars enrolled, the amount paid to teach- 
ers, the number of schools, and the value of school-houses 
had more than doubled, which, as he rightly concluded, 
showed the growing efficiency and populaiity of the school 
system. 

One act of legislation, secured by Mr. White, has exerted 
a very important influence on the schools of the State. 
It is the one which makes provision for a reliable insti- 
tute fund. This is done by requiring each candidate for 
a teacher's certificate to pay for institute use a fee of fifty 
cents for the privilege of an examination. This fund has 
enabled the teachers of the several counties to engage for 
their improvement in their profession, for a short time each 
year, the services of some one or more of the most eminent 
educators of the country. 

Another valuable act of legislation secured through his 
influence, was the creation of the State Board of Examiners, 



J 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 343 

with the power to issue life certificates to teachers of emi- 
nent attainments and success in their vocation — an import- 
ant step towards making teaching a profession. 

In his second annual report made to the Governor, Decem- 
ber 17, 1864, the Commissioner urged, with great force, the 
supreme importance of a thorough supervision of school 
work, stating that one-half of the great outlay for schools 
was " turned in unskillful hands into ashes instead of bless- 
ings." His conclusion, after a thorough discussion of the 
subject, was that the most feasible and efficient plan for such 
supervision for country schools is that of county superin- 
tendents. He also discussed the true object of the " land 
grant " by Congress, " donating lands to the several colleges 
for the benefit of ».agriculture and the mechanic arts," and 
came to the conclusion that the design of the grant was to 
secure for the students of the colleges founded on it " a 
scheme of instruction sufficiently wide and extensive to fill 
the full measure of a 'liberal' as well as a professional edu- 
cation, but that the former should be subordinated to the 
latter." He thought, also, that a normal department for the 
training of teachers would be a legitimate department for 
an industrial college ; "for in what other way," he remarks, 
"can the practical education of the industrial classes be bet- 
ter promoted than by making the instruction of our com- 
mon schools more practical ? " He deemed the time especial- 
ly favorable for the establishment in the State of one or 
more normal schools or normal departments of high order. 

In accordance with a joint resolution, passed by the Gen- 
eral Assembly March 13, 1865, Mr. White presented an able 
report the following winter on the subject of " the best 
results of normal schools in this country, and so far as prac- 
ticable, in other countries, and the best plan of organizing 
one or more efficient normal schools in this State." This re- 
port was the closing work of his administration. 

Mr. White's successor was Mr. .John A. Norris, of Harrison 



344 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

county. Mr. Norris was one of the many teachers who 
had proved themselves patriotic and gallant soldiers. He 
entered upon the discharge of his duties in February, 1866, 
served three years and was re-elected for a second term, but 
resigned June 25, 1869, and was succeeded by Mr. W. D. 
Henkle, who was appointed by Gov. Hayes to fill the va- 
cancy. As Mr. Norris's labors as Commissioner were chiefly 
directed to the establishment of county supervision, his ad- 
ministration will be treated of under that head. 

Mr. Henkle largely devoted himself to the work of prepar- 
ing a codified school bill — a very laborious and important 
work. He did not succeed in getting this bill through the 
legislature, but it is substantially the same as the law of 
1873. Mr. Henkle also continued the recommendation of 
his predecessors in favor of county supervision and normal 
schools, but without securing any legislation upon either. 
He resigned his office shortl}^ before the close of his term, 
and was succeeded by Mr. T. W. Harvey, who had just been 
elected Commissioner by the people. 

Commissioner Harvey recommended to the General Assem- 
bly, in his first annual report, "the organization and ap- 
pointment of a Board of Institute Managers, consisting of not 
less than four experienced, practical teachers, whose sole busi- 
ness shall be the organization and management of district 
and county institutes." The district institutes which he 
recommended were to be co-extensive with the judicial dis; 
tricts of the State, and were to hold an annual session of not 
less than six weeks. The best teachers were to assist • this 
board in conducting their exercises. The Commissioner be- 
lieved that these district institutes v»^ould be attended by 
the most intelligent teachers of the district, who would go 
thence as educational missionaries. Neither of these excel- 
lent recommendations received any attention from the Gen- 
eral Assembly. 

Mr.- Harvey also advocated in his second report (1872) the 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 345 

introduction of drawing into the public schools, as a branch 
of instruction essential to the skillful mechanic. He said : 
" Our native artisans have a right to complain of the indiffer- 
ence of our legislators and school officials to their interests, 
when they see workmen trained in foreign countries occu- 
pj^ng the best places in our w^orkshops and factories, and 
our public buildings planned by foreign architects and 
erected under their supervision. " 

During the third j^ear of Mr. Harvey's administration was 
passed the codified school bill, which had long been in prep- 
aration, and wdiich is known as the act of 1873. Though 
this bill did not embrace many feature? not in the law of 
1853 and its amendments, it did much to simj^lify and ren- 
der mOre certain the administration of school atfairs. That 
provision, however, which divorced boards of education in 
city districts of the first class from all connection with the 
municipal legislature of such cities, must be regarded as one 
having an important bearing on the management of schools. 

It will be seen from this very condensed history of the 
work of state supervision in Ohio, what the duties of State 
School Commissioner are, and how broad and all-embracing 
the labors of the men who have held the office have been. 
B}^ their printed discussions, by their addresses to the people 
in so many localities, by their services in teachers' insti- 
tutes, by tlieir influence on legislative action, and by their 
aid in unifying and directing the thought and energies of 
the vast body of educators of the State, they have been a 
great power in forming and building up the common school 
system. In the more restricted sense of the term, they can 
scarcely be called superintendents at all. They have occu- 
pied more the position of a general-in-chief, who surveys the 
whole field, watches the varying tide of the conflict, and 
directs his forces, whether for attack or defense, to the 
points, where they are most needed. Thus far their forces 
have all been volunteers, over whom they possessed none 
23 



346 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

but a moral authority, but volunteers who have never failed 
to respond with alacrity to any call that has been made upon 
them. 

In the capacity of the judge who explains and applies the 
law, their services have been hardly less valuable than in 
the particulars above mentioned. By their labors in this 
direction, confusion has been superseded by order, and an 
ignorant, narrow management of school affairs, by one com- 
paratively intelligent and liberal. 

COUNTY SUPERVISION. 

As has already been stated, county supervision was recom- 
mended by Samuel Lewis in his first report, made to the 
legislature in 1838, and this recommendation has received 
the hearty approval of all his successors in office, with per- 
haps a single exception, It has also been recommended by 
Secretaries of State in their school reports, and by Gov- 
ernors in their annual messages, but as yet the legislature 
has failed to take any action in the matter, if Ave may 
except the legislation of February, 1847, which authorized 
county commissioners to create the separate office of super- 
intendent of common schools Avithin their jurisdiction. 
In the event of the establishment of that office, the clerks 
of the school districts in the county were constituted a 
body of electors, and might select said superintendent, 
whose duties Avere to be as folloAvs: "To act as ex-officio 
chairman of the board of school examiners, his signa- 
ture being made necessary to the validity of every 
certificate ; to rencAV, at his discretion, the certificates of 
teachers Avho had been personally examined by the board, 
and with the concurrence of one of said board of school 
examiners, to annul the certificate of any teacher who 
might prove incompetent in respect to learning, ability to- 
teach, or moral character ; to visit and examine all the 



I 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 847 

schools in the count}-, and keep a full record of such visits 
and examinations ; to meet and address the people in the 
several school districts and townships on the subject of edu- 
cation ; to encourage the formation of township and county 
educational societies, and teachers' associations; and to trans- 
mit to the State Superintendent at Columbus an abstract of 
his transactions, and a statistical report similar to that re- 
quired from the county auditor. His compensation w\as at 
the option of the county commissioners."* 

The law was at first local, but its provisions were soon 
afterwards extended to the whole State. Only three coun- 
ties — Ashtabula, Clermont, and Sanduskyf — are known to 
have established the office, although it is quite possible 
that one or two others may have attempted a trial of the 
scheme. The best results from the experiment were re- 
ported from these counties. 

After the failure of this law, educators continued to peti- 
tion and teachers' associations to memorialize the legislature 
in behalf of a measure which thej^ deemed of vital import- 
ance to the school s^-stem. In the winter of 1858, Senator 
Canfield, of Medina county, a warm friend of educational pro- 
gress, introduced into the Senate a bill providing for county 
superintendents, and prescribing the duties of the office. 
Under this bill, the superintendents were to be appointed by 
three county officers, and their salary to be fixed by the 
county commissioners. The bill, after being referred, was 
not reported back to the Senate, and, as a consequence went 
over to the following winter's session. Possibly it might 
have been passed, had not the State Teachers' Association, 
to which body the bill, at the special request of its mover, 
had been referred for discussion at its meeting at Delaware, 
in the summer of 1858, exj^ressed a preference for district 



'■■ Taylor's Ohio School System, p. 197. 

t Mr. Taj'lor says Ashtabula was the only county, but in this statement, notwith- 
standing his general accuracy, he is certainly at fault. 



348 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

superintendents, through a report presented by Mr. John 
Lynch. The Association very effectually blocked the way 
of any action by the legislature by adopting the following 
preamble and resolution : 

" Whereas, At the request of Senator Canfield, the bill for the ap- 
pointment of county superintendents, presented by him to the Senate 
during the last session of the legislature, has been considered by this 
Association, and in the opinion thereof, it is not expedient at this time 
that said bill should become a law ; therefore, 

Resotied, That a committee of three, empowered to represent this 
Association, be appointed by the chair to confer with the committee of 
the legislature on the question involved." 

The three members appointed on the committee were the 
three Avho had expressed most decided dissent to the bill, 
and, of course, nothing came of their conference with the 
committee of the legislature, if such a conference was ever 
held. The bill had its faults, but if it had been adopted, 
it is probable that its defects would soon have been cor- 
rected, and we should have had in successful operation a 
measure for which the friends of education unavailingly 
continued to struggle for the subsequent eighteen years. 

On the accession of Mr. Norris to the office of State 
Commissioner, in 1866, he at once bent his energies to 
the work of securing legislation in favor of county super- 
vision. In his first annual report, he discussed the subject 
in a ver}' thorough manner, quoting the views of his jDrede- 
cessors in office in support of his position. He also fortified 
that position by citing the favorable opinions of other edu- 
cators from every part of the country. 

At the meeting of the State Teachers' Association, held at 
Zanesville, July, 1866, the subjects of normal schools and 
county superintendency were discussed very fully, without 
a dissenting voice as to the importance of both jneasures. 
At a subsequent meeting of school superintendents, held at 
Columbus, during the same year, that body decided in favor 



I 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 349 

of concentrating educational effort and influence to secure 
county supervision first ; for it was claimed by those who 
preferred this measure that its workings would tend, in the 
very nature of things, to open up the way for the establish- 
ment of normal schools. The Commissioner, therefore, was 
assured of the aid and sympathy of the great body of teach- 
ers of the State. Mr. Norris, like his predecessors in office, 
deprecated the introduction of partizan politics into any 
school measure ; and this, too, when the party which had 
elected him was largely in the ascendant. His words were : 

'' No true friend of our common schools, or wise conservator of social 
tranquillity, would, for one moment, consent to the adoption of any 
measure that would entangle school interests with party contests. The 
interests of our schools are paramount to the interests in ordinary par- 
ty issues. School men have no right, therefore, to endanger these 
interests by becoming propagandists of party dogmas." 

To avoid the introduction of party politics in the. selection 
of county superintendents, he presented the following plan* 
f(n' their election : 

" Let the county superintendent in each county be chosen by a con- 
vention composed of the chairman or president of the several boards of 
education interested, two-thirds of all such officers being necessary to 
form a quorum for the transaction of business, and a majority of such 
quorum being necessary to a choice ; and let such superintendent be re- 
movable for immorality, inefficiency, or gross neglect of duty, by a 
two-thirds vote of all the chairmen named. Furthermore, as is the 
case with other teachers or superfntendents of schools, let no candidate 
for the position be eligible unless he is al)le to obtain a certificate of 
qualifications for the discharge of the duties of his office from some 
♦•ompetent and imjiartial lioard of examiners." 

The board of examiners afterward designated in the bill 
framed by Mr. Norris, was the State Board of Examiners. 
In case of failure to obtain such a certificate, or in case of 
a vacancy in the office, the State School Commissioner was 
required to call a meeting of the presidents of boards of 



*This plan is substantially the same as the one recommended by Commissioner White 
in 1864. 



350 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

education to elect another person to act as superintendent. 
In case the presidents of boards of education should fail or 
refuse to elect a county superintendent, the State Commis- 
sioner was to appoint, the appointee to hold the office until 
the succeeding annual election. In counties having less 
than six thousand youth of school age, the superintendent 
was to receive an annual salary of $1,200; and in counties 
having more than six tliousand youth of school age, he was 
to receive $100 additional for each one thousand enumerated 
youth above six thousand, until the salary should reach 
$2,000, which was to be the maximum. 

The bill was introduced into the House of Representa- 
tives, January 26, 1867. The final vote was taken April 12, 
of the same year, with the following result : Yeas 48 — nays 
38, lacking four votes of a constitutional majority. The 
Commissioner and other friends of the measure did not 
yet relinquish the hope of securing favorable legislation, 
and during the summer of 1867, made strenuous eflbrts in 
that direction, but without avail. 

Commissioner Norris manifested great anxiety that an 
advanced position should be taken in regard to teachers' 
institutes. He fully realized the difficulty of obtaining 
competent instructors to labor in the field. So unwilling 
was he to await the uncertainties and delays of legislation, 
that he appeared before the State Teachers' Association 
at its Dayton meeting in 1868, and earnestly asked the 
teachers there assembled to assist him to place in the field, 
if possible, four able institute instructors. This bethought 
could be done without much expense to them, as the insti- 
tute fund provided for by law would pay the larger part of 
the salaries of that number of instructors. He said the 
educational work of the State had never been so Avell done 
as when performed by the teachers themselves through 
their state agent, and that if the spirit that supported 
without aid this agent for so long a period, were again 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 351 

revived, a new face would be put upon our educational 
prospects. The proposition met with much substantial 
favor in the way of funds pledged to carry it out, and Mr 
William Mitchell was soon placed in the field as one of the 
proposed instructors, but after a few weeks resigned to take 
again the superintendency of the Columbus schools. 

Since Mr. Norris retired from the office of superintendent, 
nothing has been done in the legislature for county supervi- 
sion until the incumbency of the present Commissioner. 
Since Mr. Smart's accession to the office in January, 1875, 
he has made that the objective point of his labors, and, but 
a few weeks since, a bill was introduced into the Senate 
through the committee on common schools, to create the 
office of county superintendent, with powers additional 
to those provided for by the bill of Commissioner Norris, 
that will contribute to make the office much more efficient 
for good, and go far to give Ohio the best school system 
possessed by any of the States. There is hope among educa- 
tors and other friends of public education that the bill may 
become a law. 



CITY AND TOWN SUPERVISION. 

Of all the influences operating for the improvement of the 
schools of this country, none have been so powerful and far- 
reaching as that exercised by the superintendents of the 
schools of cities and towns. 

European educators have rightly set a high estimate on in- 
spection and supervision in a state school system, and it was 
this feature of the Prussian schools which, as long ago as 1833, 
struck Cousin, the distinguished French philosopher, most 
favorably. Yet the old world method, until quite recentlv, 
differed in a very marked manner from ours. There, these 
inspectors and superintendents were usually clergymen, and 
not teachers, either by education or practice. Many of them 



352 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Avere undoubtedly earnest and able men, but from the stand- 
])oint of the educator, not qualified for the details of the 
work they were called upon to undertake. In this country 
and the Canadas, the tendency has been, from the beginn- 
ing, to place supervision and inspection more and more in 
the hands of experts — of those who, by experience, have 
an intimate knowledge of the details of school-room work. 
The clergyman, as such, has never, except in New England, 
and that at an early day, entered as a factor into the man- 
agement of the public schools of the United States; but the 
importance of having a large class of scholarly men warmly 
interested in the education of the people, and eagerly watch- 
ing over the welfare of their schools, ready to help in matters 
pertaining to their improvement, and to defend from attacks 
of both secret and open foes, is not to be lightly valued. 
Such a class would be a powerful auxiliary in giving the 
schools the confidence of the people, and in preventing their 
falling into the hands of small politicians. But to have 
that class whose knowledge of educational matters can at 
best be but theoretical and general, constantly interfering 
Avith the details of the work of professional teachers, would 
give Avidely different results. It is not, however, to be in- 
ferred that we have anyAvhcre in this country arrived at 
that point where school management is entirely in the hands 
of professional educators. The schools under the laws of 
Ohio are placed under the absolute control of the boards of 
education established by those laws. These boards every- 
where in Ohio are elected by popular vote. Superintendents 
of schools are elected by these boards, and are endowed Avith 
such an amount of authority as the boards choose to delegate 
to them. The practice differs Avidely in this respect — some 
boards making their superintendents almost absolute in all 
matters pertaining to the instruction and management of 
their schools, Avhilst others confer little or no authority, leaA'- 
ing the superintendent Avith scarcely any influence, except 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 353 

such a moral influence as may result from weight of charac- 
ter. The theory of this class of school authorities is, that 
the board itself should do a large share of the supervision 
and inspection of its schools, through its own committees. 
But this class grows constantly smaller, and, as has been 
already stated, the tendency is to place supervision and 
inspection more and more entirely in the hands of profes- 
sional teachers. 

Since the enactment of the Akron law, in 1847, the in- 
crease in the number and influence of superintendents of 
schools has been rapid and constant. Under that and sub- 
sequent laws has grown up a great body of professional 
educators, whose zeal for their own personal improvement, 
for progress in methods of instruction and school' manage- 
ment, and in the work of giving their State a high educa- 
tional standing, has known no abatement from the time 
Lorin Andrews entered upon his noble work until now. 

The spread of city and town supervision was the natural 
result of the growth of the graded school system. When 
several schools of different grades were united as an aggre- 
gate whole, there was at once felt the necessity of a uni- 
fying and directing head. Unless thei'c was such a head, it 
was easily to be seen that much effort on the part of the 
teachers would be misdirected or entirel}' thrown away. In 
addition, an experienced hand was needed to work up the 
details of school organization, and prepare a systematic 
course of study suited to the new order of things. Ncav 
teachers were constantly coming into the schools, entirely 
inexperienced in their work, and often of very limited 
acquirements. These needed to be assisted and instructed. 
Thus the superintendent came to do something of the work 
of a normal school. But the strongest and most experienced 
teachers had to be so directed that their efforts might 
count most in producing that general result, which should 
grow out of the harmonious labors of many different hands 



354 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

and brains. Not independent but united effort Avas now- 
wanted. Tbe experience and thought of one directing 
mind could alone furnish this. By such a scheme of su- 
pervision, the wisdom and experience of the head of a 
sj'stem of schools becomes the possession, in a large meas- 
ure, of every teacher connected with those schools. By it, 
also, sluggish or indifferent teachers are urged to greater 
exertion, timid ones encouraged, and all stimulated to do 
their best work. 

" Men will work better when they know that their faithfulness will 
he commended. A cooper makes better barrels when he knows that 
they must pass a rigid inspection. The wood seller gives more acci;- 
rate measure in a city where he expects rigid measurement, than he 
does in a town where no such test is applied. The soldier or subordi- 
nate otRcer fights more bravely under the eye of his general, because 
he expects that his heroism will be commended or rewarded, and his 
cowardice condemned or punished. So, too, teachers in those graded 
schools in which there is a rigid inspection of their labors, teach better 
than they would in schools where no such inspection is expected."* 

The duties of the superintendent have not been confined 
to the management of schools alone. He is often the finan- 
cial adviser of his board of education; and hence, as a rule, 
ought to be a clear-headed man of business. He is still 
more frequently the architect who plans new school build- 
ings, being careful to see that they are supplied with proper 
jDrovisions for heating, ventilation, and light. He also 
recommends the furniture which he deems best suited to 
the comfort and health of pupils, and selects the reference 
books and apparatus necessary in the several grades of 
schools, t 

One of the duties of the superintendent, as an inspector 
of the schools under his charge, is to ascertain the standing 
and progress of the pupils of the several grades and classes. 
This is done by means of oral and written examinations. 



" W. D. Henkle, in Report on County Supervision, made to the State Teachers' Asso- 
ciation, in 1864. 
' \ See Supt. Stevenson's Report of Columbus schools, 1S72. 



SCHOOL SUPEEVISION. 3o5 

AVhiLst it is undeniable that the former have their value — 
largely in the way of arousing in pupils an increased inter- 
est in their studies — the latter are chiefly relied on in mak- 
ing grade transfers, as altogether the fairest and most relia- 
ble standard of abilitj' and scholarship. The nam1)er of 
written examinations had during the year varies consider- 
ably in our State. Some superintendents — chiefly in the 
smaller towns — ^make it a point to examine each grade of 
their schools, in all the studies pursued by the grade, as 
often as once a month. Others are content with quarterly 
examinations, whilst in one or two cities semi-annual exam- 
inations only are held. The general examinations of the 
superintendent are often supplemented by more special 
examinations conducted by the teachers themselves. Per- 
hajjs no scheme could have been devised that would have 
contributed so much to a well-defined and solid scholarship, 
as has the scheme of written examinations. They arc not 
only, when properly applied, a measure of what the pupil 
knows and can do, but they measure in a large degree the 
character and efficiency of the teachers' work, helping both 
towai-ds a solution of the question of self-knowledge. 

As has been intimated, the "Akron law," passed February 
8, 1847, at first restricted to Akron and Dayton, but by 
amendments adopted in 1848 and 1849, made general for all 
cities, towns, and villages that might choose to avail them- 
selves of its provisions, was the foundation of our graded 
school system. It is true that Cincinnati, Cleveland, and 
Columbus had previous to that time organized their schools 
on a graded plan — Cincinnati as early as 1829, Columbus 
in 1845, and Cleveland in 1848. This grading was, how- 
ever, until a much later date, very imperfect. Notwith- 
standing these individual exceptions, the fact remains that 
the general impulse for the organization of graded schools 
was derived from the Akron law. 

It is not within the design of this sketch to enter into 



356 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

any detailed history of supervision in the several cities and 
towns of the State. Those seeking such information Avill 
find it in the several local histories prepared for this centen- 
nial year. 

Columbus claims to have had in the person of Dr. A. D. 
Lord, so long one of the leading educators of the State, the. 
first superintendent ever elected in Ohio. He was elected 
May 1.5, 1847, and served continuously till 1854. M. D. Leg- 
gett, who has since won an honorable name as an educator 
and a soldier, was elected superintendent of the Akron schools 
in the same year of Dr. Lord's election to the Columbus 
schools. Lorin Andrews was elected superintendent of the 
Massillon schools in 1848. Cleveland's first superinten- 
dent was Andrew' Freese, a man long bearing a prominent 
part in educational affairs, elected in 1853. Li 1848, the 
eminent educator, M. F. Cowdery, was elected superinten- 
dent of the schools of Sandusky, and remained at their head 
for the long period of twenty-two years. Although the school 
sj^stem of Cincinnati was by many years the oldest in the 
State, and she had already acquired an honorable fame 
throughout the country for her superiority in educational 
facilities, yet she had no superintendent until 1850, when 
Nathan Guilford, so honorably known for his valuable ser- 
vices to education as a legislator, was elected pnder a special 
law passed March 23, 1850. This election took place under 
the plan of a popular vote — a plan never adopted in any 
other town of the State. Mr. Guilford served two years, and 
was succeeded by Dr. Merrell, who resigned before the close 
of the year. The popular-vote mode of election was abol- 
ished by the law of 1853, the first general act making spe- 
cific provision for the office of city and town superintendent. 
The first superintendent for Cincinnati under this law was 
A. J. RickofF, who, by his display of organizing and general 
executive power, at once placed himself in the froait rank of 
educators. Under .his administration wuis introduced that 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 357 

thorough grading of schools which has been productive of 
such excellent results, and has been followed more or less 
closely by all the cities and towns of the State. He was 
also the first to make a general use of written examinations 
for ascertaining the comparative value of the work done in 
,the several schools of an educational system. 

In the meantime, a work of organization was being carried 
out in Cleveland, Columbus, Sandusky, and other towns, by 
the able men who were directing their educational forces. 
Lancaster had elected .John S. Whitwell su2)erintendent in 
1849; Circleville, .John Lynch, in 1852, and Zanesville, Geo. 
W. Batchelder, in the same year; Steubenville, Thomas F. 
McGrew, in 1853, and Fremont, in the same year, H. E. 
Clarke ; Hamilton, Alexander Bartlett, in 1854 ; and Piqua, 
A. G. Chambers, in 1856. About 1851, W. N. Edwards was 
elected superintendent of the schools of Troy, and in this 
oflice he spent the remaining years of his valuable life. 

Toledo and Dayton were the last of the large towns of the 
State to elect superintendents. The former chose the Rev. 
Anson Smyth to the office in 1854 ; and the latter, in 1855, 
James Campbell, then principal of the high school, with the 
provision that he should continue to devote half his time to 
high-school work. In 1858, this restriction was removed, and 
Mr. Campbell's whole time, so long as he remained in office, 
was given to the duties of that office. The history of supervi- 
sion in Dayton has been peculiar. In no other considerable 
town of the State, so far as we are acquainted, with the 
single exception of Zanesville, has the office of superintend- 
ent been abolished after having been once created. In 
Dayton, this has been virtually done twice. After Mr. 
Campbell's resignation, in 1859, the office, though not form- 
ally abolished, remained vacant until 1856, when Mr. Caleb 
Parker, a member of the board of education, was elected to 
the position. Mr. Parker held the place for two years, and 
declined a re-appointment. The office was again vacant 



358 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

until 1871, since which time it has been regularly filled. 

At first, in none but the larger cities, such as Cincinnati 
and Cleveland, was the whole time of the superintendent 
given to supervision. Indeed, in some of the smaller towns. 
but very little of it was thus directed — not more than an 
hour or two each day at most — the remainder being given 
to instruction in the high school department of the schools. 
But as the value of supervision became more manifest to 
school authorities, more and more of the superintendent's 
time was set apart for the special duties of his jDosition. 
The practice, however, still jDrevails in the smaller towns 
for the superintendent to devote some part of his time to 
the work of teaching classes, the amount being determined 
by the number of pupils in the schools and by other exigen- 
cies. In some cities, as Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton, 
one or more assistant superintendents, under the name of 
supervising principals, came to be employed to aid the 
general superintendent in his work. At an eairly period of 
Mr. Rickoff's administration in Cincinnati, the principals of 
schools were relieved of the charge of a room of pupils, and 
were jiut at supervisory Avork, under such a rule that they 
were required, in all except some of the smaller schools, to 
give their whole time to it. In Dayton, at the present time, 
the principals give a part of their time to supervision, the 
rest being devoted to the instruction of the highest class in 
the school. 

Nothing could more plainly exhibit the low estate of the 
school system, when town and city supervision first began 
to obtain a foothold in the State, than the meagre salaries 
paid superintendents. The first salary paid Mr. Leggett, 
at Akron, was $500; that paid to Mr. Guilford, at Cincin. 
nati, $700; and $800 was about the outside limit paid any- 
where. 

In conclusion, it may be said that not alone is the super- 
intendent felt in the power he exerts in the organization. 



SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 359. 

inspection, and supervision of the schools under his charge, 
or in the influence he wields over their teachers and pupils, 
but "wherever there is a superintendent who is active, 
efficient, and wise, there is a more appreciative public 
sentiment, and a higher standard of excellence." Such a 
superintendent not only helps to form the character of his 
pupils, but he is to some extent the educator of the town in 
which he labors. If he be a man of large attainments and 
lofty character, his influence will tend to promote a higher 
ideal of living throughout society. 



CHAPTER IX. 
TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIONS. 

The present liberal school system of Ohio is largely due to 
conventions and associations held in the interest of educa- 
tion. These agencies have enlarged the views of teachers, 
enlightened public sentiment, and indicated and secured 
legislative action. They have also done much' to improve 
school instruction and management. 

A history of these agencies is, therefore, an important 
part of the history of educational effort and progress in the 
State, and the writer much regrets that he has neither time 
nor space for more than a brief account of the more imiwrt- 
ant of them. 

WESTERN DTERARY INSTITUTE AND BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

In 1829, some twenty teachers in Cincinnati met and 
organized a society, with the above title. Its objects, as 
stated, were to promote harmony, co-operation, and the 
diffusion of knowledge among its members, and to discuss 
•subjects conducive to the advantage of education generally. 
Elijah Slack was elected president, Milo G. Williams, cor- 
responding secretar}^, John L. Talbot, recording secretary, 
and Albert Picket, president of the board of control. In 
addition to these officers, the active members of the society 
included Alexander Kimmont, Caleb Kemper, Nathaniel 
Halloy, C. B. McKee, Stephen Wheeler, Thomas J. Mathews, 
David L. Talbot, and C. Davenport. 



teachers' associations. 361 

Meetings were held monthly, with a good attendance, and 
the more important duties of the school-room were freely 
and fully discussed. At the anniversary meeting held in 
June, 1831, Rev. C. B. McKee gave an address advocating 
the co-operation of parents and all other citizens in the 
education of the young, and Rev. R. H. Bishop, D. D., pre- 
sented the advantages of the common school system, and 
advocated the grading of schools and the employing of well 
qualified teachers. The proceedings of this meeting were 
published in a neat pamphlet. 

At the meeting held in 1831, steps were taken which re- 
sulted in the organization of 

THE COLLEGE OF TEACHERS. 

At the meeting referred to, Milo G. Williams offered a 
resolution proposing a correspondence with prominent 
teachers in the West and South to obtain their views on the 
question of calling a convention of the friends of education, 
at some point to be determined b}'- the correspondence. The 
resolution was adopted and Mr. Williams, as corresponding 
secretar}^, conducted the correspondence. The measure was 
heartily approved by those addressed, and Cincinnati was 
designated as the place of meeting. Arrangements were 
made and the convention called. It opened October 3, 1832, 
and continued in session four days. 

On the first day of the session, John L. Talbot moved the 
appointment of a committee to take into consideration the 
expediency of forming a western society of teachers, and, 
if approved, to prepare and report a constitution for its 
government. The committee was composed of M."* Butler 
and H. Bascom, of Kentuck5\ M. A. H. Niles and M. M. 
Bingham, of Indiana, and Albert Picket and Milo G. 
Williams, of Ohio. 

The next day the committee reported in favor of forming 

24 



362 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

a permanent society and submitted the draft of a constitu- 
tion, which, with slight alterations, was adopted. It 
declared the object of the society to be "to promote, by all 
laudable means, the diffusion of knowledge in regard to 
education, and especially by aiming at the elevation of 
instructors who shall have adopted instruction as their reg- 
ular profession." Thomas J. Matthews was elected pres- 
ident, Milo G. Williams, corresponding secretary, David L. 
Talbot, recording secretary, and Timothy Hammond, treasur- 
er, and " the Western Literary Institute and College of Pro- 
fessional Teachers " was thus organized. 

The society held annual meetings in Cincinnati until 
1845. The session opened on Monday and continued through 
the week, and the largest churches in the city were required 
to accommodate the audiences. It was attended by the 
leading teachers and friends of education in the Mississippi 
Valley, but it was chiefly directed by Albert Picket, Alex- 
ander Kinmont, Milo G. Williams, W. H. McGuffey, Sam- 
uel Lewis, Dr. Joseph Ray, Nathan Guilford, Prof. Calvin E. 
Stowe, and other Ohio members. 

The College of Teachers contributed largely to the ad- 
vancement of education in Ohio, and the West generally. 
In the fourteen years of its existence over thr.ee hundred 
addresses and reports were made before it, discussing educa- 
tion in all its phases and grades. The seven volumes of 
"Transactions" published contain an amount of educational 
experience and information not found in the same compass 
in any early publications. 

It also instituted important measures and agencies for the 
improvement of schools. As early as 1833 it recommended 
the organization of teachers' associations, and it early con- 
tributed to the development of what is now known as the 
teachers' institute. It advocated the grading of schools and 
the importance of supervision, especially urging the crea- 
tion of the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruc- 



J 



teachers' associations. 363 

tion. In 1835, it secured the passage of a resolution by the 
General Assembly of Ohio, appropriating $500 to enable 
Prof. Calvin E. Stowe, of Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, who 
Avas about to visit Europe, to make an examination of the 
elementary school systems of Prussia and other European 
nations. Prof. Stowe submitted the results of his observa- 
tions and enquiries in an able report, which exerted a wide 
and beneficent influence on American schools. 

At the annual meeting in 1835, a resolution was adopted 
recommending that meetings of teachers and other friends 
of education be held at the seat of government of the several 
states during the sittings of the legislatures. This action 
resulted in the holding of conventions in Ohio, as shown 
hereafter, and in other states, and important legislation 
was secured. 

The College of Teachers suspended in 1845,* but the cause 
is not known to the writer. 



STATE CONVENTIONS. 

In pursuance of the resolution of the College of Teachers, 
above referred to, the Ohio section of the directory, after con- 
sultation with prominent teachers, called a meeting, to be 
held in Columbus, January 13, 1836. This was the first State 
Convention held in Ohio in the interest of public education. Gov- 
ernor Robert Lucas was made president, and Milo G. Wil- 
liams, secretary. Among those who Avere present and took 
part in the proceedings were Wm. H. McGufFey, of Oxford ; 
M. P. Jewett, of Marietta ; Samuel Lewis, E. D. Mansfield, 
and Calvin E. Stowe, of Cincinnati ; Wm. Sparrow, of Gam- 
bier ; John H. James, of Urbana ; H. 0. Sheldon, of Newark ; 
James Hoge, William Preston, H. N. Hubbell, and Wm. M. 



-It has been stated that the suspension occured in 1847, but the writer finds no record of 
a meeting in 1846 or 1847. 



364 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Awl, of Columbus ; Charles Sawyer, of Granville ; Robert C. 
Schenck, of Dayton; and John B. Wheaton, of London. 
The members of both branches of the General Assembly 
were invited to attend the meetings and take part in the 
deliberations. 

A committee, with E. D. Mansfield as chairman, was ap- 
pointed to report on the defects in the school laws of Ohio, 
and the legislation required to remedy them. The commit- 
tee reported the existence of three kinds of defects, viz : 
1. Too low a standard of education, as shown by the low 
qualifications required of teachers. 2. The want of respon- 
sibility between the agents of instruction, boards of exami- 
ners, and legislative power. 3. The want of general super- 
vision, as shown by the absence of any officer who has charge 
of the department of instruction. The report closed with 
resolutions recommending : 1. That the qualifications of 
teachers should include at least English grammar, geogra- 
phy, and the art of teaching. 2. The creation of the office 
of State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 3. The re- 
quiring of county examiners to inspect officially all the 
district schools of their respective counties, at least once 
a year, and to report their condition to the State Super- 
intendent, 4. The establishment of public district libra- 
ries. 5. The appointment of one or more commissioners 
by the Governor to collect statistical information relating 
to schools. The resolutions were adopted unanimousl}-, 
and a memorial embodying their recommendations was 
signed by the officers and presented to the General As- 
sembly. 

On the first day of the convention Samuel Lewis de- - 
livered an address on common schools, reviewing the past 
and present condition of the schools of the State, the laws 
regulating them, and their financial resources and exjiendi- 
tures. The following evening Prof. Stowe read a portion of 
his report on the Prussian system of public instruction. 



teachers' associations. 365 

The entire proceedings of the convention were laid before 
the General Assembly by the Governor, accompanied by a 
special message, and, by a joint resolution, the journal and 
addresses were ordered to be printed in pamphlet form and 
circulated among teachers throughout the State. The com- 
mittees on schools and the members of the convention had 
conferences, and, before the close of the session of the 
General Assembly, a law was passed creating the office of 
State Superintendent of Common Schools, and Samuel 
Lewis was appointed to the office. 

It was thought by many in attendance that the ends 
sought by the convention could be better attained by an 
organization independent of the Ohio directory, yet con- 
nected with the College of Teachers. A constitution was 
framed and adopted, officers were elected, and the " Ohio 
State Society for the Promotion of Public Instruction " was 
thus organized. 

The society failed to hold its first annual meeting, in 
1836, and so the Ohio directory of the College of Teachers 
announced another convention to be held in Columbus, 
December 19, 1837. The call was accompanied by an earnest 
appeal to teachers and other citizens, and there was a large 
attendance from the different sections of the State. 

The sessions were presided over in turn by Ex-Governor 
Vance, Ex-Governor Morrow, Judge McLean, and Rev. Dr. 
Hoge. Milo G. Williams was made secretary. Addresses 
were delivered by Prof. Stowe, Hon. Wm. Johnson, Wm. 
Slocomb, and Dr. Macenly. Rev. Dr. Hoge gave an address 
on the education of the blind and the deaf and dumb. 
Superintendent Hubbell, of the Deaf and Dumb Institution, 
illustrated his methods of teaching, and Superintendent 
Penniman explained the methods employed in the educa- 
tion of the blind. 

Nathaniel Wright, Esq., introduced the following resolu- 
tion, which was adopted : 



366 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

"Resolved, That we hail the efforts which are now being made by 
despotic governments for the moral and intellectual elevation of the 
great masses of the people, as a new era in the history of the world, 
and that their example should stimulate us to redoubled exertions to 
establish a system of common schools so efficient that all our children 
may be brought permanently within its influence." 

The third convention, under the Ohio directory, convened 
in Columbus, December 26, 1838, and continued in session 
four days. It had a larger attendance than either of the 
previous ones. Hon. William Shannon was chosen presi- 
dent, and J. M. Stevenson and H. A. Moore, secretaries. 

Milo G. Williams read a report on the great diversity of 
text-books used in the schools of the State ; Dr. W. H. 
McGufFey delivered a lecture on the influence of common 
school education, and Prof. Stowe read an able report on the 
establishing of a State Normal School at Columbus. Mr. 
Williams followed with a report recommending the estab- 
lishment of a normal school in each congressional district. 
The reports on school-books and normal schools were fully 
discussed, and resolutions were adopted declaring a state 
uniformity of text-books impracticable, and urging, as 
important to the full success of the common school system, 
" the establishment of a Teachers' Seminary at the seat of 
government, and at such other places as may be necessary." 
Messrs. McGuffey, Smith, and Preston were apjjointed a 
committee to memorialize the General Assembly on the 
creation of a board of public instruction and the founding of 
a teachers' seminary. 

The subject of vocal music was introduced by a communi- 
cation from Mrs. Mary C. Webster, and after a spirited dis- 
cussion, a resolution was adopted hailing the introduction 
of vocal music into primary and higher schools as a " prom- 
ising era in the history of education," and recommending 
its introduction into common schools, academies, and higher 
institutions of learning. Mr. Smith made a report on the 
conducting of district schools in the West, which was pub- 
lished with the proceedings. 



teachers' associations. 367 

At the closing meeting of the session, the following resolu- 
tion was ably supported by Hon. Wm. Johnson and Prof. 
Stowe and adopted by the convention : • 

" Resolved, That a well-regulated and efficient system of free common 
schools is the sheet-anchor of republican liberty, and that without it 
we can have no just ground of hope for the permanence of our institu- 
tions." 

A resolution was also adopted strongly approving of the 
manner in which Superintendant Lewis had discharged his 
duties. 

The proceedings of the convention, including several 
reports, were published. 

Messrs. Williams and Jenkins were appointed a committee 
to fix the time and make arrangements for the next conven- 
tion, but the writer has found no evidence that it was held. 
Early in 1829 resolutions were offered in the General Assem- 
bly recommending that the office of State Superintendent 
be abolished. The resolutions failed, but Mr. Lewis resigned 
his office at the close of the j^ear, his health being impaired 
by severe labor, and a law was passed making the Secretary 
of State ex-officio school superintendent. It is believed that 
the unfavorable spirit of the General Assembly of 1839-40, 
so much discouraged the friends of education that no con- 
vention was called. 

The period from 1840 to 1845 was marked by a declining 
interest in schools. In 1844, Samuel Galloway became 
Secretary of State. He entered with zeal upon the work of 
school improvement, and greatly assisted in producing the 
educational revival which began in 1845. He made seven 
reports, the first being the fullest and ablest which had 
appeared for five years. 

In 1845, 1846, and 1847, many teachers' institutes were 
held in the State, the first being held in Sandusky in Sep- 
tember, 1845. These institutes filled the place of educa- 
tional conventions, and important measures for the improve- 



368 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

nient of the schools were advocated and approved. A deep 
and active interest in popular education was thus awakened 
in many counties. ' 

OHIO teachers' association. 

After the failure of the Ohio State Society, organized in 
1835, the question of forming a state association of teachers 
was frequently discussed by the more active teachers in the 
State. In the December number of the Ohio School Journal, 

1846, the editor, Dr. A. D. Lord, suggested and earnestly 
advocated the forming of a state common school society. 
This suggestion was renewed in the November number, 

1847, and the hope expressed that such a society would be 
organized within a year. 

At teachers' institutes held in Ashland, Chardon, and 
Akron, in October and November, 1847, M. F. Cowdery, of 
Lake county, Lorin Andrews, of Ashland county, A. D. 
Lord, of Franklin county, W. Boweii, of Stark county, Josiah 
Hurty, of Richland county, T. W. Harvey, of Geauga county, 
A. H. Bailey, of Ashtabula county, M. D. Leggett, of Sum- 
mit county, and J. Sloan, of Knox county, were appointed a 
committee to take into consideration the propriety of form- 
ing a State Teachers' Association and to fix upon the time 
and place for organizing the same. 

A majority of this committee met in Akron and issued a 
call for a convention to be held in Akron, Summit county, 
'On the evening of December 30, 1847, and during the day of 
the 31st, for the purpose of organizing a State Teachers' Asso- 
ciation. 

The original call, published in the " Free School Clarion," 
was as follows : 

To Teachers in Ohio. — At the Teachers' Institutes held in Ashland, 
Ashland Co., Chardon, Geauga Co., and Akron, Summit Co., in Octo- 
ber and November, 1847, M. F. Cowdery, of Lake Co., L. Andrews, of 
Ashland Co., A. D. Lord, of Franklin Co., W. Bowen, of Stark Co., 



teachers' associations. 369 

Josiah Hurty, of Eichland Co., T. W. Harvey, of Geauga Co., A. H. 
Bailey, of Ashtabula Co., M. D. Leggett, of Summit Co., and J. Sloan, 
of Knox Co., were appointed a committee to take into consideration 
the propriety of forming a State Teachers' Association, and to fix upon 
the time and place of organizing the same. 

The undersigned, a majority of said committee, assembled at Akron, 
and have resolved that it is expedient to hold a Convention at 
Akron, Summit Co., on the evening of the 30th, and during the day 
of the 31st of December next, for the purpose of organizing a State 
Teachers' Association. 

It is hoped that Teachers in Ohio, feeling an interest in their profes- 
sion, and the improvement of the Schools of our State, will be present 
and assist in the organization of the Association, and afterwards in 
promoting its interests. 

There will be an address before the Convention on the evening of 
the 30th of December. 

Educational and political papers in Ohio are requested to insert 
the above notice.' 

M. F. COWDEKY, W. BOWEN, 

JosiAH Hurty, T. W. Hakvey, 

L. Andrews, M. D. Leggett. 

In accordance with the above call, delegates representing 
eleven counties, assembled in Akron on the 30th of Decem- 
ber, 1847, and organized the Ohio State Teachers' Associa- 
tion. The delegates included M. F. Cowdery, T. W. Harvey, 
Lorin Andrews, M. D. Leggett, Josiah Hurty, W. Bowen, A. 
K. Smith, J. R. Doig, Arvine Wales, P. Dawley, and perhaps 
others. 

M. F. Cowdery was elected chairman, and T. W. Harvey, 
secretary, and a constitution was adopted. 

The permanent organization of the Association was com- 
pleted by the election of the following officers by ballot, to 
serve for the ensuing year : 

President — Samuel Gallowa}^, of Franklin, 

Vice Presidents — P. Dawley, of Stark ; A. A. Smith, of 
Ashtabula; A. Freese, of Cuyahoga; R. R. Sloan, of Knox; 
E. E. Barney, of Montgomery ; L. Tenney, of Washington ; 
J. B. Howard, of Muskingum; A. D. Lord, of Franklin ; J. 
R. Doig, of Wayne ; P. S. Semmes, of Hamilton ; C. C. Giles, 



370 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

of Warren ; Milo G. Williams, of Clarke ; S. Blakeslce. of 
Williams ; B. Eouse, of Lucas ; J. Hall, of Huron ; H. G. 
Blake, of Medina; A. Gilbert, of Columbiana; Mr. Bennett, 
of Miami; Wm. Finley, of Ross ; E. S. Stanton, of Jefferson. 

Recording Secretary — T. W. Harvey, of Geauga. 

Corresponding Secretary — M. D. Leggett, of Summit. 

Treasurer — William Bowen, of Stark. 

Executive Committee — M. F. Cowdery, of Lake ; Lorin An- 
drews, of Ashland ; J. Nichols, of Lake ; J. Hurty, of Rich- 
land ; F. W. Tappan, of Portage ; H. K. Smith, of Summit. 

Resolutions Avere passed (1) requesting the recording sec- 
retary to keep a record of the names of all the teachers in 
the State that expect to continue in the business of teach- 
ing for three years and upwards; (2) requesting all teachers 
in Ohio qualified to take charge of union schools (graded), 
and wishing employment, to furnish their names, with refer- 
ences, to the corresponding secretary ; and (3) petitioning 
the legislature so to amend the school law%s of Ohio as to 
require each school district to raise annually, by taxation, 
an amount equal to the amount received from the state 
funds, for the payment of competent teachers. 

M. F. Cowdery, L. Andrews, and M. D. Leggett were ap- 
pointed a committee to j^repare an address expressive of the 
views of the convention. The address submitted opened 
with an expression of the conviction that the office of 
teacher is second in importance to no other, and that 
teachers should turn to it " with a pure satisfaction and a 
deep and abiding reverence." Teachers were reminded that 
the future of their profession and its rank in society are in 
their keeping. Attention was called to teachers' associa- 
tions, then existing in many counties, as an important 
means for the elevation of teaching, and the State Teachers' 
Association, just organized, was earnestly commended to the 
approval and support of teachers in all parts of the State. 
One of the first duties proposed for the Association was, to 



teachers' associations. 371 

prepare the public mind for wise and liberal provisions for 
the improvement of schools, and to create a demand for such 
legislative provisions as should be most needed. Space is 
taken for one paragraph of the address : 

" We propose, therefore, as speedily as possible, to examine and dis- 
cuss, respectfully and courteously, yet vigilantly and independently, all 
measures and principles of interest to teachers and schools, aside from 
local considerations and private interests. To sustain and defend what 
is excellent in our schools or school system, will be our highest pleas- 
ure. To prepare the way for introducing improvements when they 
are needed, will be our next duty. This, it seems to us, is the safest 
method of conducting our reform, and the one most likely to save all 
wise legislation from opposition or subversion by prejudice, and from 
the influence of political partisanship." 

The address closed with an earnest invitation to all teach- 
ers and friends of education in Ohio to co-operate in the 
movement, with the promise of " the high satisfaction of 
soon beholding our beloved State taking as high rank in all 
the means for promoting virtue and true nobleness as she 
now holds in all other elements of greatness and prosperity." 

Early in January, 1848, the executive committee assigned 
some thirty different subjects to as many committees, with a 
request that written reports should be presented at the 
future meetings of the Association. A large number of these 
committees complied with the request, and their reports 
were put on file. A full list of the topics and committees 
was published in the Ohio School Journal for February, 
1848. The committees on text-books were assigned the easy (?) 
task of securing, as far as possible, all the text-books on the 
subjects assigned them, and "comparing the works, article 
with article, subject with subject, state explicitly in their 
reports in what respects each work is meritorious and defi- 
cient. " It may be instructive to add that these committees 
have not yet submitted their reports ! 

In the same month, conditional arrangements were made 
for holding, under the auspices of the Association, teachers' 



372 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

institutes in some forty counties in the eastern and south- 
eastern parts of the State. Nineteen counties accepted the 
conditions and institutes were held, nine in the spring and 
ten in the autumn. 

A circuLir letter was issued January 21, 1848, announcing 
a course of lectures to teachers on fourteen siwcified subjects, 
to be given between the 14th day of June and the 16th day 
of August, in any county making the best proposition to the 
executive committee, for furnishing building, apparatus, 
board, and accomodations for 300 students. Huron county 
made the best proposition and secured the State Normal 
Class. About one hundred and twenty persons attended the 
course. A similar course was given in Akron in the autumn 
to about sixty persons. 

The executive committee also issued an address to county 
school examiners, reminding them of the responsibility of 
their position and asking for a united effort to elevate the 
schools. Special attention was called to the facilities afibrded 
by teachers' institutes, and the co-operation of examiners was 
solicited. The necessity of complying with the provisions 
of the law relating to the examination of teachers was urged, 
and the method, adopted in Lake county, of requiring written 
answers in several branches, was strongly commended. 

It is thus seen that the Ohio Teachers' Association had its 
origiii in an earnest spirit of reform, and that it entered 
hopefully and zealously upon the great work of concentra- 
ting the influence of teachers and all other friends of public 
education in a united effort to give Ohio an efficient and 
comprehensive system of schools. The work mapped out 
and undertaken by the executive committee was without 
precedent. 

The first regular meeting of the Association was held in 
Dayton, June 1st and 2d, 1848. The time was unfavorable, 
the academies and colleges, and many public schools being 
in session, and the attendance was not large. The presi- 



teachers' associations. 373 

dent, Hon. Samuel Galloway, being absent. Dr. A. D. Lord, 
of Columbus, one of the vice presidents, occupied the chair. 

RejDorts were read on " School Examinations and the Best 
Mode of Conducting Them," by A. E. Stevens, of Dayton ; 
on "Physiology and the Laws of Health," by Dr. A. D. 
Lord ; on " Linear Drawing, " by J. B. Howard, of Muskin- 
gum county; and on "Civil Polity," by Josiah Hurty, of 
Mansfield. H. H. Barney, of Cincinnati, delivered an address 
on 'the "Influence of Education on Our Free Institutions." 

Resolutions were adopted declaring that, "examinations 
should be conducted orally, or by printed questions, or b}' 
both " ; that the members of the Association would use their 
influence to have a teachers' institute held in every county ; 
that every child should be taught the general jirincij^les of 
civil government; that the office of State Superintendent of 
Common Schools should be created " with a salary sufficient- 
ly lil)eral to command the best talent in the country ;" that it 
is the imperative duty of the State to make provision for 
the education of teachers by establishing normal schools. 
It was decided to procure signatures to memorials to the Gen- 
eral Assembly on the subjects embraced in the last two 
resolutions. Resolutions were also passed providing for de- 
tailed accounts, by the delegates to the Association, of the 
condition of the schools in their respective counties; and 
commending the Ohio School Journal, edited by Dr. A. D. 
Lord. 

The first annual meeting of the Association Avas held in 
Columbus, Dec. 28th and 29th, 1848, the president, Hon. 
Samuel Galloway, in the chair. The executive committee 
presented a report of its proceedings, including those relat- 
ing to teachers' institutes, to courses of lectures for teachers, 
to the examination of teachers, and to the grading of schools 
in towns. The subject of union schools had been presented 
in all the counties visited by the persons employed to con- 
duct teachers' institutes, and, as a result, several towns had 



374 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

adopted the graded system and others were making arrange- 
ments to do so. The committee reported a growing public 
sentiment in favor of all practical improvements of the 
school system, and presented a hopeful view of the future. 

The following questions were discussed at some length, 
but the action of the Association upon them is not stated in 
the secretary's minutes : 

"Is it for the interest of common schools that provision be made by 
the State for the education of teachers ?" 

'' Would the interests of common schools be promoted by the ap- 
pointment of State and County Superintendents of schools? " 

" What plan of organization is best suited to the wants of the incor- 
porated towns and cities of the State ?" 

Messrs. A. D. Lord, ?. S. Rickley, and H. H. Barney were 
appointed a committee to prepare a report on the advan- 
tages to be derived from union schools, and on the best mode 
of conducting them. The report was prepared at once and 
published in the annual report of the State Superinten- 
dent of Schools (Secretary of State), and in the Ohio School 
Journal (Vol. IV, No. 4.)' 

The principal officers elected for the ensuing year were 
Hon. Samuel Galloway, President; P. Dawley, of Stark, 1st 
Vice President ; S. S. Rickley, of Columbus, Recording Secre- 
tary ; W. P. Kerr, of Granville, Corresponding Secretary ; 
L. G. Parker, of Urbana, Treasurer ; and A. D. Lord, Chair- 
man of the Executive Committee. 

Arrangements were early made for holding the second 
semi-annual meeting in Springfield, July 3d and 4th, 1849, 
but the alarm occasioned by the expected prevalence of 
cholera, caused a postponement of the meeting, and subse- 
quently its omission. 

The second annual meeting was held in Columbus, De- 
cember 26th and 27th, 1849, the president, Hon. Samuel 
Galloway, in the chair. The president delivered an intro- 
ductory address on " The Importance of Universal Edu- 
cation, and the Paramount Importance of Correct Moral 



teachers' associations. 375 

Instruction, based upon the Bible." By a vote of the Asso- 
ciation, Mr. Galloway was requested to publish the address 
in the ap^Dendix of his annual report as Superintendent of 
Schools. At the evening session, Prof. S. H. Smith, of Star- 
ling Medical College, gave an address on the "Animal King- 
dom." Reports were made by Wm. N. Edwards, of Troy, on 
" Moral Instruction ; " by A. Freese, of Cleveland, on " Men- 
tal Arithmetic ; " by Amos Gilbert, of Columbiana county, 
on " Phonography ; " by W. G. Darley, of Trumbull county, 
on "Geography and Map Drawing;" by A. D. Wright, of 
Perrysburg, on " Primary Teaching ; " and by G. R. Hand, 
of Cincinnati, on the "Analysis of English Words." 

Resolutions were passed petitioning the legislature so to 
amend the school law as to fix the minimum school age at 
five years ; asserting the importance of elementary instruc- 
tion, and of employing the most talented and successful 
teachers in primary schools; and recommending to teachers 
and school committees the propriety of testing, by actual 
experiment, the value of the phonetic system. 

Mr. Lorin Andrews presented a series of resolutions 
recommending the appointment of a State Board of Public 
Instruction, consisting of five members, each to serve four 
years as "District Superintendent," and one year (the fifth) 
as State Superintendent of Common Schools, at a salary of 
$1,000 a year, to be paid from funds arising from the exam- 
ination fees paid by teachers. The sixth resolution re- 
quired each applicant for examination to pay a fee of one 
dollar, and the seventh required the State Superintendent 
to edit an educational paper to be sent free to the holders of 
certificates valid in any county of the State one year. 

The resolutions were referred to Messrs. H. H. Barney, 
Lorin Andrews, M. G. Williams, A. J. RickofF, A. D. Lord, 
and the president, who, the next day, reported them to the 
Association for adoption. The first six resolutions were dis- 
cussed one by one, and adopted. The consideration of the 



376 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

seventh and eighth resolutions was postponed to the after- 
noon session, and the official minutes contain no further 
reference to them. 

The adoption of the resolutions relating to supervision 
was followed by the appointment of Messrs. A. D. Lord, M. 
G. Williams, and H. H. Barney, as a committee to prepare 
a memorial to the legislature, praying for the enactment of 
a law securing a general supervision of the schools of the 
State. The committee discharged the duty assigned, and 
an act providing for a State Board of Public Instruction was 
passed March 22, 1850, but the legislature adjourned with- 
out appointing the board. 

Messrs. M. F. Cowdery, J. M. Howe, and A. J. Buel were 
appointed a committee to prepare an address to the teachers 
of Ohio relative to the action of the Association. 

Messrs. H. H. Barney, L. Andrews, A. D. Lord, M. F. Cow- 
dery, M. G. Williams, M. D. Leggett, E. E. Barney, A. E. 
Stevens, A. H. BaileV, E. D. Kingsley, Samuel Galloway, 
and A. D. Wright were appointed delegates to the National 
Educational Convention, to be held in Philadelphia the 
next August. 

Hon. Samuel Galloway was elected President for the en- 
suing year; P. Dawley, of Stark, 1st Vice President ; E. D. 
Kingsley, of Columbus, Recording Secretary ; I. W. Andrews, 
of Marietta, Corresponding Secretary ; John Ogden, of Colum- 
bus, Treasurer ; and A. D. Lord, of Columbus, Chairman of 
the Executive Committee. 

In its annual report for 1849, the executive committee 
declare that the passage of the " Act for the better organiza- 
tion of the public schools in cities, towns, etc.," drafted by 
Hon. S. T. Worcester, constitutes "an important era in the 
school legislation of our State." 

The semi-annual meeting was held in Springfield, July 3d 
and 4th, 1850. The president being absent, Milo G. Wil- 
liams, one of the vice presidents, was called to the chair. 



teachers' associations. 377 

Addresses were delivered by Rev. D. Shepardson of Cin- 
cinnati, on " The Genius of Our Government and the 
Prosperity of Our Republic, as Incentives to the Teacher," 
and b}^ Prof. J. C. Zachos, of Cincinnati, on the *' Philosoph}^ 
of Education." 

Reports were read by A. A. Smith, of Ashtabula county, on 
" Normal Schools," and by Josiah Hurty on " The Impor- 
tance to Teachers of a Knowledge of other Branches than 
those they are required to teach." A report on " Elementary 
Instruction," by the venerable Albert Picket, Sen., was read 
by M. G. Williams. Mr. Picket received a vote of thanks 
for his able report. 

The discussions were chiefly devoted to Mr. Smith's re- 
port on normal schools, and to the subject of supervision. 
Resolutions were passed, declaring that " the best interests 
of the common schools of Ohio require that provision be 
made in the constitution of the State for the establishment 
of one or more normal schools ; " and recommending " that 
provision be made in the constitution, to be formed for this 
State, for the election of a State Superintendent of Schools 
by the people, and such a number of district and county 
superintendents, as may from time to time be deemed 
necessary." 

Resolutions were also passed approving of '' the practice 
of having female teachers give instruction in teachers' insti- 
tutes ; " hailing with pleasure the appearance of the " Ohio 
Teacher," and recommending it to the patronage of the pro- 
fession and the public ; recommending the publication of 
articles on education in newspapers ; requesting clergymen 
in the State to deliver to their congregations a lecture on 
the subject of education, in October ; declaring that the 
principle that common school education should forever be 
made free to every child in the State, should be incorporated 
in the constitution ; and instructing the executive com- 
mittee to prepare a series of tracts on im23ortant educa- 
tional topics. 
25 



378 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Considerable time was profitably devoted to the hearing of 
five-minute reports on the condition of schools in the several 
counties represented. Reports were presented from twenty- 
six counties. 

Messrs. A. D. Lord, A. H. Bailey, H. H. Barney, D. Shep- 
ardson, T. Rainey, M. F. Cowdery, Wm. Travis, I, J. Allen, 
Joseph Ray, and E. L. Curry were appointed delegates to the 
Free School Convention, to be held in Syracuse, N. Y., July 
10th, 1850. 

The third annual meeting was held in Columbus, Decem- 
ber 25th and 26th, 1850, the president in the chair. Thirty- 
five counties were represented by about one hundred and 
fifty delegates. 

The annual address of the president discussed the present 
condition of education, errors in teaching, and the objects 
to be aimed at by the Association. Hon. Ira Mayhew, of 
Michigan, gave an address on the "Aims and Means of Popu- 
lar Education." 

ConsidercTible time was devoted to the discussion of a series 
of resolutions presented by the business committee, Dr. A. D. 
Lord, chairman. The first resolution deemed it to be the 
imperative duty of the legislature to provide for a thorough 
revision of the school laws of the State. The second urged 
the importance of an early appointment of the members of 
the State Board of Education, created by the act of March 22. 
The third requested the legislature to appoint no man a 
member of the board '^ who is not well-known as an expe- 
rienced and successful teacher." 

The first and second resolutions were adopted, but the 
third was so amended as to recommend the appointment of 
no man ■' who has not given an earnest of his efficiency and 
success as a zealous and enlightened educator." The resolu- 
tion, as amended, was adopted. 

It was announced that the trustees of Miami University 
had established a normal school in connection with that in- 



teachers' associations. 379 

stitiition, and President Anderson stated that the scholars 
in the normal school would be admitted to the lectures on 
different branches delivered to the regular classes. This 
announcement was received with much satisfaction. A 
resolution was introduced by Mr. Stearns, declaring that 
the interests of education in Ohio demand the establish- 
ment of a State Normal School. The resolution was opposed 
by several on the ground that such a school would cripple 
many of the colleges in the State which had organized nor- 
mal departments! This objection was fully answered, but 
the resolution was laid on the table — the first unfavorable 
vote on the normal school question given by the Association. 

The business committee reported a series of resolutions, 
referring to the dissensions in the State of New York on the 
free school question, and declaring that the organic law of 
the State should guarantee a free and adequate education to 
all its youth, and that education can not become universal 
unless it be made free. The resolutions were adopted. 

A resolution was also adopted, after discussion, recom- 
mending to teachers the reading of a portion of the Holy 
Scriptures in their schools. 

M. F. Cowdery was elected president on the first ballot by 
four majority, but declined serving, and Isaac Sams, of Hills- 
boro, was elected on the second ballot. Dr. Joseph Ray was 
elected first vice president ; John Lynch, of Ashland, re- 
cording secretary ; P. Dawley, of Massillon, corresponding 
secretary; John Ogden, treasurer; and Lorin Andrews, 
chairman of the executive committee. 

Messrs. A. D. Lord, M. D. Leggett, and Josiah Hurty were 
appointed a committee to prepare and publish, in pamphlet 
form, the history and the proceedings of the Ohio State 
Teachers' Association, with a list of its members and also of 
its officers.* 



■•" An edition of 1,000 copies was printed, a part being covered and the remainder re- 
served for future use. Tlie writer has seen but one copy of this pamphlet — a copy kindly 
sent him by Mr. Cowdery. 



380 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The year 1851 is a memorable one in the history of the 
Ohio Teachers' Association. The Constitutional Conven- 
tion, which met in Columbus in 1850, re-assembled in March 
1851, and there was a wide spread expectation that the new 
constitution would contain Avise and liberal provisions rela- 
ting to education. Later in the year it was generally be- 
lieved that the first General Assembly under the constitu- 
tion would enact an efiicient and progressive school law. 
These expectations aroused a hopeful and earnest spirit and 
caused unusual activity among the friends of public educa- 
tion. 

Early in the year, Lorin Andrews, the recently elected 
chairman of the executive committee, was induced to resign 
his position as principal of the Massillon Union School and 
become a " Common School Missionary, " without any assur- 
ance of pecuniary reward, except the small and uncertain 
compensation afforded by teachers' institutes. Early in 
February, he issued a circular calling for assistance in the 
institutes to be held in the spring, and at once entered on a 
thorough canvass of the State as the Agent of the Associa- 
tion'. Forty-one institutes were held in the year, and in 
about one-half of these Mr. Andrews was the principal in- 
structor. 

The semi-annual meeting of the Association was held in 
Cleveland, July 2d and 3d, 1851.* There was a good attend- 
ance and the proceedings were characterized by great ear- 
nestness. The labors of Mr. Andrews as State Agent, were 
cordially approved and a resolution to sustain him pecun- 
iarily was unanimously adopted. By this act the teachers of 
Ohio pledged themselves to do what the State had repeatedly 
refused to do, and for three years they kept their pledge, 
contributing from their small salaries the means required to 
keep an agent in the field. This action of Ohio teachers 

*It is believed that the official miuutes of . this meeting of the Association have never 
been published.. 



teachers' associations. 381 

was without precedent, and it has never been successfully 
imitated by the teachers of any other state. 

The Association passed resolutions declaring that boys 
and girls ought to sit in the same school-rooms; that phonot- 
ypy should be used as a means of teaching reading ; and 
that the legislature ought to establish one or more houses 
of reformation for juvenile offenders. It is believed that the 
adoption of the last resolution was the beginning of the 
public movement which resulted in the establishment of 
the Ohio Reform School for Boys. 

At this meeting a committee was appointed, with Lorin 
Andrews as chairman, to consider the propriety of establish- 
ing an educational paper as the organ of the Association. 

Endorsed and sustained by the Association, and encour- 
aged by a hearty reception by the people, Mr. Andrews 
devoted himself with renewed energy to his self-denying 
labor, with most promising results. 

The fourth annual meeting of the Association was held in 
Columbus, Dec. 31, 1851, and Jan. 1, 1852, President Sams in 
the chair. The large attendance attested the value of the 
General Agent's efforts in awakening a general interest in 
educational progress. 

On motion of M. F. Cowder}^, Mr. Andrews was employed 
to act as General Agent for the ensuing year, and a com- 
mittee was appointed to obtain contributions to meet the 
deficiency in his salary for the past ten months. The 
amount required was promptly raised. 

Mr. Andrews, as chairman of the committee appointed at 
the semi-annual meeting, submitted a report, recommend- 
ing that a "a paper be published monthly, in octavo form, 
each number to contain thirty-two pages, at one dollar a 
year, and that all the teachers of the State be requested to 
act as agents and correspondents. " 

The report was discussed at length and adopted, and the 
entire management of the proposed paper was entrusted to 



382 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

the executive committee. Messrs. A. D. Lord, J. K. Kidd, 
Chas. Kogers, D. Huffman, D. Parsons, W. B. Fairchilds, and 
G. W. Batchelder were appointed a committee to solicit sub- 
scriptions and pledges for its support. The next day the 
committee reported pledges for 1,200 copies. 

The executive committe decided to call the new paper 
The Ohio Jouenal of Education, and Messrs. A. D. Lord, 
H. H. Barney, J. C. Zachos, M. F. Cowdery, I. W. Andrews, 
and Andrew Ffeese were appointed editors. The first num- 
ber was issued in January, 1852, and its publication by the 
Association was continued eight years. 

A resolution was adopted requesting the legislature to 
provide for district school libraries. Messrs. H. H. Bar- 
ney, George Willey, and Isaac Sams were appointed a com- 
mittee to prepare a petition to the legislature praying for 
the appointment of an adequate number of superintendents 
of common schools. Persons circulating this petition for 
signatures, were requested to forward the same to Lorin An- 
drews, to be by him laid before the legislature. 

Messrs. Samuel Galloway, A. D. Lord and M. F. Cowdery 
were appointed a committee to petition the legislature for 
an appropriation for the support of the Agent of the Asso- 
ciation for the coming year. 

Addressee were delivered at this meeting by Prof. Joseph 
Rayon "The Qualifications of Teachers;" by George Wil- 
ley, Esq., of Cleveland, on "Education;" and by Wm. D. 
Swan, of Boston, on "The Teacher's Profession." Reports 
were read by A. H. Bailey on "District School Libraries," 
and by Prof. I. W. Andrews, of Marietta College, on " The 
Relations of Schools and Colleges. " 

The chairman of the executive committee, Mr. Andrews, 
submitted an elaborate report, which, by request, was pub- 
lished by the Secretary of State in his annual report as 
Superintendent of Schools. It was also published in the 
first number of the new organ of the Association, in connec- 
tion with the proceedings of the meeting. 



TEACHEKS' ASSOCIATIONS. 383 

Rev. W. C. Anderson, D. D., of Oxford, was elected presi- 
dent for the ensuing year; G. R. Hand, first vice presi- 
dent; Chas. Rogers, recording secretary; F. HoUenbeck, 
corresponding secretary ; John Ogden, treasurer ; and Lorin 
Andrews, chairman of the executive committee. 

The semi-annual meeting held in Sandusky July 7th and 
8th, was attended by three hundred delegates, representing 
forty-three counties. 

The school bill, reported by the Senate committee, was 
discussed at length, and the legislature was urged to take 
favorable action upon it. Messrs. L. Andrews, Willey, 
Wright, Batchelder, and Kingsley were appointed a com* 
mittee to confer with the Senate committee and others. 

Mr. Cowdery, of the finance committee, reported a plan 
for raising funds, in addition to those already pledged, to 
sustain the Agent. The plan was adopted and a reserve 
fund of $602 was pledged. 

Mr. Andrews, of the executive committee, submitted an 
encouraging report respecting the Ohio Journal of Education^ 
and the importance of a vigorous effort to increase its circu- 
lation was urged by several speakers. 

Addresses were delivered at this meeting by Prof. J. H. 
Fairchild, of Oberlin, on "The Joint Education of the 
Sexes ;" and Dr. A. D. Lord read a report on " The Smith- 
sonian Institution. " 

Delegates were appointed to the American Institute of 
Instruction, the American Association for the Advancement 
of Eklucation, and the New York State Teachers' Associa- 
tion. 

The fifth annual meeting was held in Columbus, Dec. 
29th and SOfch, 1852, President Anderson in the chair. 

The opening address by M. F. Cowdery reviewed the re- 
cent educational history of the State, and made a stirring 
appeal to the members of the Association to meet the high 
responsibilities resting upon them. 



384 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The executive committee gave the cheering results of the 
efforts of the year just closing. The Journal of Education 
had been a financial success, the receipts exceeding the ex- 
penditures by over $200. The resident editor, Dr. A. D. 
Lord, was paid $150 for his services. Eight hundred new 
subscribers were pledged. 

The number of institutes held in the year was thirty-one, 
ten less than in 1851. This decrease was attributed to the 
increase in the number of graded schools, and the difficulty 
of securing competent institute instructors. The committee 
recommended that ai)plication be made to the legisla- 
ture so to amend the laws that institutes could receive 
pecuniary aid from the State, and that the Association em- 
ploy at least four institute instructors to assist the General 
Agent. 

The report also contained a valuable table giving statis- 
tics of forty-five union or graded schools in Ohio. Only five 
of these schools Avere organized previous to 1848. 

The afternoon of the first day was devoted to a discussion 
of the school bill then pending in the Senate. Resolutions 
were passed specially approving of the provisions relating 
to the state tax, the office of State Superintendent of Schools, 
township boards of education, and school libraries. A com- 
mittee was appointed to confer with the Senate committee 
on schools. 

Lorin Andrews was employed as Agent for the ensuing 
year, at a salary of $1,500. Dr. Joseph Ray, of Cincinnati, 
was elected president; D. F. DeWolf, of Norwalk, record- 
ing secretary ; J. Hurty, of Lebanon, corresponding secre- 
tary; J. C. Pearson, of Columbus, treasurer; Lorin Andrews, 
chairman of the executive committee ; and M. F. Cowdery, 
chairman of the finance committee. 

The semi-annual meeting in Dayton, July 6th and 7th, 
1853, was large and enthusiastic. The new school law em- 
bodied most of the important measures advocated by the 



teachers' associations. 385 

Association, and there was much rejoicing over its enact- 
ment. Over five hundred teachers commended the law 
"to the hearty good will of the people, and the earnest co- 
operation of the friends of education. " 

Mr. Cowdery, of the finance committee, reported that 
$410 was due the Agent. A call for pledges of money was 
made at the next session and the needed $410 was raised. 

Prof. I. W. Andrews, of Marietta College, presented reso- 
lutions setting forth the qualifications of Lorin Andrews, 
and most earnestly recommending him to the people of 
Ohio as a fit person for State Commissioner of Common 
Schools. The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and a 
committee of seven Avas appointed to prepare an address to 
the people of the State. 

The annual meeting, held in Columbus, Dec. 28th and 
29th, was one of great interest. The opening address was 
delivered by Rev. Dr. Thompson, President of the Ohio 
Wesleyan University, and the annual address by Hon. 
Horace Mann, of Massachusetts. Reports were read by S. 
N. Sanford, of Cleveland, on " Natural Science ;" by Mr. 
Smith, of Toledo, on " Moral Instruction ;" and by John 
Hancock, of Cincinnati, on " The Position and Duties of 
Teachers. " 

The annual report of the executive committee showed 
an increase in the number of institutes held, and a consid- 
erable increase in the number of graded schools, the num- 
ber then in the State being estimated at about one hundred. 
The report strongly advocated the establishment of a State 
Normal School, and closed with an earnest appeal to teach- 
ers to stand by the school law. 

Mr. Andrews's election to the presidency of Kenyon Col- 
lege caused his retirement from the position of Agent, and 
Dr. A. D. Lord was elected his successor. He resigned his 
position as superintendent of the Columbus schools, and 
soon " took the field. " 



386 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The rules, requiring the election to be by ballot, were sus- 
pended, and Lorin Andrews was elected president of the 
Association for the ensuing year by acclamation. John 
Hancock was elected recording secretary; H. Anderson, 
corresponding secretary ; D. C. Pearson, treasurer ; A. D. 
Lord, chairman of the executive committee ; and M. F. Cow- 
dery, chairman of the finance committee. 

It has seemed advisable to sketch the proceedings of the 
Association the first six years of its history, with sufficient 
fullness to indicate their aim, scope, and spirit. A want of 
space forbids even a brief summary of the proceedings of 
the meetings held since 1853, and the fact that the official 
reports of all these meetings, with the more important 
papers and addresses, have been published in the " Journal 
of Education, " and its successor, the " "Educational Month- 
ly, " makes such a summary unnecessary. A brief state- 
ment of the more important facts in this later history must 
suffice. 

The Association continued to hold two meetings a year 
until 1858, when the semi-annual meeting was discontinued 
and the time of the annual meeting changed to July. The 
average attendance for twenty years past has been over five 
hundred, and some meetings have been attended by near!}' 
a thousand teachers. 

In 1863 the Association was divided into two sections, but 
after a trial of the plan for two years, it was abandoned. 
The Ohio Superintendents' Association met for several 
years the day before the Teachers' Association and at the 
same place, but in 1874 it was merged in the Ohio Teachers' 
Association, and has since been conducted as a section. In 
December, 1857, the Association was incorporated, with the 
title of " The Ohio Teachers' Association. " 

The meetings of the Association have been, almost with- 
out exception, harmonious and spirited, and, for many 
years, there has been little or no canvassing in the election 



teachers' associations. 387 

of officers. In no instance in the knowledge of the writer, 
has the honor of the presidency been conferred on a known 
aspirant for the position. Tiie nominating committee has 
reported the names of persons deemed competent to fill the 
offices designated, and worthy of the confidence and honor 
of the Association, and the nominations thus made have 
been approved by the Association without division. 

The great measures of school progress advocated by the 
Association in the first years of its history, were teachers' 
institutes, normal schools, school supervision (state and 
local), graded schools, and school libraries. When it held 
its sixth annual meeting, all of these measures, the second 
excepted, were more or less satisfactorily embodied in school 
legislation. All efforts to secure the establishment of stiite 
normal schools had failed. In his final report as chairman 
of the executive committee, in 1853, Lorin Andrews made 
one more stirring appeal on this subject, and, at the semi- 
annual meeting in 1854, Dr. A. D. Lord, Mr. Andrews's succes- 
sor as Agent and as chairman of the executive eonimittee, 
submitted a report recommending the establishment of a 
normal school under the auspices of the Association. The 
proposition was earnestly advocated by Mr. Cowdery, Prof. 
I. W. Andrews, Lorin Andrews, and others, and the execu- 
tive committee was instructed to report at the next annual 
meeting a definite plan for the establishment of a normal 
school, including the raising of funds for such a purpose. 

At the next annual meeting. President Lorin Andrews 
read a letter from Cyrus McNeely, offering to transfer to the 
Association the house and grounds of his school in Hope- 
dale, valued at $10,000, for the purposes of a normal school. 
The proposition was referred to the executive committee. 
At the semi-annual meeting, held in Cleveland in^ July, 
1855, Mr. McNeely's proposition was accepted, with the 
thanks of the Association for the mimificent gift, and a 
committee of eleven was appointed to take possession of the 



388 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

property. There were many present at this meeting who 
doubted the ability of the Associatian to sustain such an 
institution, but the enthusiasm and confidence of such 
leaders as Lorin Andrews, M. F. Cowdery, and Dr. Lord, 
carried the Association. An effort was at once made to 
raise an endowment fund, and thousands of dollars were 
pledged by the more zealous friends of the enterprise. The 
school was conducted under the auspices of the Association 
for several years, and then passed under private control. 
The present connection of the school with the Association 
is nominal. In 1858, the Association petitioned the General 
Assembly to make the school a state institution, but the bill 
was defeated. 

At the annual meeting in 1855, Prof. Alfred Holbrook pre- 
sented a report from a committee, containing a petition to 
the legislature, asking that the state be divided into four 
normal school districts, and that an annual appropriation of 
$5,000 be made by the State to one normal school in each 
district, on condition that such school be established by 
members of the Association, with property valued at not 
less than $15,000. The report was discussed at length, and 
adopted. This discussion disclosed the fact that several 
members of the Association doubted the value of normal 
schools, and a committee was appointed to inquire into 
"the causes of the failure of normal schools in this and 
other States." 

The "Ohio Journal of Education" was published by the 
Association eight years. ThP first four volumes were edited 
by Dr. A. D. Lord ; the fifth by Rev. Anson Smyth ; the sixth 
by John D. Caldwell; and the seventh and eighth by Wm. T. 
Coggeshall. Dr. Lord received a small compensation ($150 
to $200) as resident editor of the first three volumes, and his 
salary as editor of the fourth volume and State Agent was 
fixed at $1,800; Mr. Smyth was paid $1,500 for services as 
editor and State Agent ; and Mr. Caldwell's salary as editor 



teachers' associations. 389 

was fixed at $1,500. The receipts of the first five volumes 
exceeded the expenses, not including a portion of the 
editor's salary as State Agent, but the sixth volume closed 
with a deficit of several hundred dollars, besides the editor's 
salary for the year. The propriety of disposing of the Jour- 
nal, and thus relieving the Association, was urged at the 
annual meeting in 1857. The proposition of Messrs. Follett, 
Foster & Co., to publish the seventh and eighth volumes, 
assuming all financial responsibility, and paying the Asso- 
ciation forty per cent of the net profits, was accepted by 
the executive committee. At the annual meeting in 1859, 
the executive committee was authorized to provide for the 
future publication of the Journal, and it was decided to 
commit its management to private enterprise. It was trans- 
ferred to F. W. Hurtt and Anson Smyth, who changed the 
name to the " Ohio Educational Monthly." In 1861, the 
magazine passed into the hands of E, E. White, and in 
1875 it was sold to W. D. Henkle, the present publisher. It 
is still recognized as the organ of the Association. 

It is seen from the foregoing, that the financial enterprises, 
early undertaken by the Association, proved a heavy burden. 
The salar)'of the State Agent the first three years was largely 
met by the voluntary donations of a few generous teachers, 
some of whom gave full ten per cent of their income to sus- 
tain the Association. At the annual meeting in 1855, over 
forty members pledged the payment of one and one-half per 
cent of their salaries. But these noble sacrifices were not 
adequate to meet the demands upon the treasury. In 1857, 
the indebtedness of the Association on the Journal's account 
was $482, exclusive of the editor's salary for the year. In 
1858, the trustees of the McNeely Normal School reported 
debts amounting to $1,000 to $1,200. This indebtedness was 
fortunately reduced by the sale of volumes of the Journal. 
The editions for the first six years were considerably in ex- 
cess of the circulation, and the Association was thus left in 



390 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

possession of several hundred copies of each vohime. Dr. 
Lord had received sets of the first five volumes in part pay- 
ment for his services in 1854, and, in 1858, two hundred sets 
of the first three volumes were sold to the State Com- 
missioner for school libraries, thus reducing the debt 
about $400. 

At the annual meeting in 1859, action was taken by the 
Association, Avhich resulted in the transfer of both the 
Journal of Education and the McNeely Normal School 
to private control. The executive committee assumed 
the payment of the portion of the debt incurred for in- 
struction ($225 due Miss Cowles), and the trustees settled 
all other claims, in part from the proceeds of pledges. Mr. 
Caldwell generously deducted $900 from his claim against 
the Association for services as editor. Other claims were 
reduced, and the remaining indebtedness was paid from the 
proceeds of sales of the second three volumes of the Journal, 
and from membership fees. At the annual meeting in 1862, 
the executive committee had the pleasure of reporting the 
Association free of debt, tdth ten cents in the treasury. Since 
1862 the receipts of the Association have exceeded its ex- 
penses, including the cost of publishing full reports of the 
proceedings of most of the meetings. 

The proceedings of the Association for the past fifteen 
years have been largely devoted to the consideration of 
questions relating to school organization, instruction, and 
management, special attention having been given to classi- 
fication and grading, courses of study, and methods of 
teaching. Vigorous efforts have also been made to secure 
legislation for the improvement of the school system. The 
most important of the measures urged since 1865, are teach- 
ers' institutes, normal schools, county supervision, the town- 
ship system, and professional certificates. The discussions 
on these subjects, from year to year, show great unaiiimity 
of sentiment among the teachers of Ohio respecting the leg- 



teachers' associations. 



391 



islation needed to give greater efficiency to the school sys- 
tem. The necessity of normal schools and county supervi- 
sion has been repeatedly affirmed by the Association. 

The Ohio Teachers' Association has a history of which 
every friend of education may justly be proud. No other 
body of teachers has ever undertaken such enterprises for 
the advancement of education, and it is believed that no 
other has exerted a stronger or more salutary influence. 

The following table gives the principal officers in each 
year of the Association : 



Date. 


Pkesident. 


Recording Sec- 
retary. 


Treasurer. 


Chairman Ex- 
ecutive Com. 


1848 


Samuel Galloway.... 


T W. Harvev 

S. S. Rickly.." 




M. F. Cowdery. 


1849 


L. G. Parker 


1850 


E. D. Kingsley 


John Ogden 




1851 






1852 


W. C Anderson 


Charles Rogers 

D. F. De Wolf 

John Hancock 

William Mitchell.... 

M. D. Parker 

W. C. Catlin 


11 




1853 


D. C. Pearson 


11 


1854 


Lorin Andrew.s 

Andrew J. Riekoff.. 

Anson Sruj-th 

I. W. Andrews 

M. F. Cowdery 

John Hancock 

A. D. Lord 




1855 


11 




185(i 


11 




1857 


11 




1858-59.. 


S. M. Barber and 

George L. Mills 

R. W. Stevenson ... 
J. H. Reed 


J. J. Janney 




1860 

186] 


Alex. Duncan 


E. E. White. 


1862 


Wni. N. Edwards .. 
E.E.White 


Edwin Regal 


Chas. S. Royce 


II 


1863 


Samuel A. Butts ... 

Wnt. E.Crosby 

H. J. Caldwell 

W. H. Venable 

S. A. Norton 


Wm. Mitchell. 


1864 

1865 


Charles S. Rovce ... 

T. W. Harvey 

Eli T. Tappan 

Wm. Mitchell 

W. D. Hcnkle 

Lyman Harding 

R! W. Stevenson 

A. C. Deuel 


Daniel Hough 




1866 

1867 


J. F. Reinmund 

R. W. Stevenson ... 
Allen Armstrong... 
Geo. M. Walker 


A. J. Rickofl; 


1868 




M. F. Cowdery. 
W. D. Henkle, 


1869 

I>i70 


Geo. W. Woollard.. 
B. 0. M. De Beck.. 


1871 


T. C Mendenhall .. 
A. B Johnson 


II 


1872 

1873 


Geo. S. Orrasbv 

U. T. Curran..'. 


L. S. Thompson 

J. M. Clemens 

G. N. Carruthers... 
W. W. Ross 




1874 

1875 


D. F. De Wolf 

A. B. Johnson 

Samuel Findley 


L. S. Thompson 




1876 


M. C. Stevens 


H M Parker " 









Note.— M. F. Cowdery was Chairman of the Finance Committee from 1853 to 1858 
inclusive. 



OTHER STATE ASSOCIATIONS. 



A convention of Ohio colleges was held previous to 1855, 
but no permanent society was. formed until 1867, when a 
constitution was adopted and officers elected. The first 



392 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

meetings were held in connection with the Association, but 
for several years past they have been held at another time 
and place, and with increasing interest and success. The 
society is called the Association of Ohio Colleges. 

The Ohio Association for the Promotion of Female Educa- 
tion was organized in Sandusky, in July, 1852. For several 
years the meetings were held the day before or the day after 
the meetings of the Ohio Teachers' Association. Rev. P. B. 
Wilbur, of Cincinnati, Rev. S. Findley of Chillicothe, S. N. 
Sanford, of Granville, Dr. A. D. Lord, of Columbus, and E. 
Hosmer, of Cleveland, were among the active members. 

LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

As early as 1857, the teachers of north-western Ohio or- 
ganized an association with the title of the " North-western 
Ohio Educational Association." Several successful meetings 
were held. The Association was revived in 1859, and large 
and interesting meetings held. 

Similar associations have been formed in the north- 
western, eastern, central, and south-western sections of 
the State. The most successful of these is the North- 
eastern Ohio Teachers' Association, which has sustained 
its meetings since 1869. It has published its proceedings 
in a large and handsome centennial volume. The Central 
Ohio Teachers' Association has held one or more successful 
meetings each year since 1870. 

Count}'- teachers' associations have been held in Ohio since 
1850, and a few may have been organized earlier. Several 
counties have sustained monthly meetings. These associa- 
tions have usually had their origin in the teachet-s' insti- 
tutes. Township associations have also been organized in a 
few counties. 



CHAPTER X. 

EDUCATION IN THE PENAL, REFORMATORY, AND 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 

Those who are under the care or guardianship of the pub- 
lic institutions of the State, are composed of three classes : 
the infirm, the criminal, and the unprotected. In the first 
class are the lunatic, the idiotic, the blind, and the deaf and 
dumb ; in the second are all the subjects of criminal or police 
laws; and in the third we may proj^erly place the orphans 
and the paupers. All of them taken together make what is 
defined as the dependent class. In every community, even 
where the highest Christian civilization prevails, this is a 
large class, and, on the principles of humanity and justice, 
it must be provided for. 

In 1838, the Commissioner of State Statistics, E. D. Mans- 
field, reported the Avhole number of the dependent class in 
Ohio to be 34,497. Since that time the number has in- 
creased, and the census of 1870, with the annual reports of 
the Secretary of State, and of the benevolent institutions, 
enables us to make a more accurate statement. Several new 
institutions, such as the Boys' and Orphans' Homes and the. 
Reform Farm for Boys have also been established. Using 
this material, we find that the dependent class in Ohio is 
composed of about 58,800 persons, as follows : 

Lunatics 2,600 

Idiotic or Imbecile 2,000 

Deaf and Dumb 1,350 

Blind 1,030 

Prisoners confined in jails 6,000 

26 



394 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Prisoners in the Penitentiary 1,200 

In Asylums, Houses of Refuge, Homes, etc, 2,000 

In Work-houses 'J^OO 

Instate Eeformatories and Homes 1,400 

In Cotmty Infirmaries 5,000 

In City Infirmaries 600 

Out-door poor partially supported by the cities 20,000 

Persons arrested, tried, and convicted for statute and police 

offenses 15,000 

The last two classes all cost the State something, but are 
a floating and temporary population. Nevertheless, as the 
same numbers return each year with a gradual increase, 
they become, in fact, a permanent body partially charged 
upon the State. Putting these aside, however, there are re- 
maining no less than 23,880 persons who are under the per- 
manent care of the State. For all this vast body there are 
no hopes for any restoration to a healthy moral or physical 
life except in what is generally known as education. If the 
defects of nature are to be supplied, as in the case of the deaf 
and dumb, or infirmness helped, as in the case of the idiotic, 
or the conscience quickened, as in the case of the criminal, 
it is always by some kind of education, either moral, intel- 
lectual, or physical, that the cure or the reform is accom- 
plished. It becomes then, a question of great importance 
whether to all or to which of these classes, and in what 
modes, education can be applied. 

In examining the various forms of infirmity, want, or 
crime, lunacy seems to be the only one to which education, 
as commonly understood, cannot minister. " Who can min- 
ister to a mind diseased. " And yet, a certain form of edu- 
cation is applied even to lunatics. This is the education of 
discipline and of amusement. The effects of discipline, even 
on lunatics, may be known by the fact that in an as3dum of 
150 inmates, 140 came down to evening prayers, notwith- 
standing their evident nervous agitation. This discipline 
was a large part of the Greek education. So far as this 



BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 395 

point goes, Ohio is not excelled by any State in the Union 
in regard to the care extended to this unfortunate class of 
the infirm. There are no less than five great Lunatic 
Asylums in the State, two of Avhich are now building. 
When all are completed, there will be room, care, and com- 
fort for all of this class. 

Leaving this class out of view, there are still 21,280 of the 
idiotic, deaf and dumb, blind, criminals, prisoners, paupers, 
and orphans, who are the proper subjects of education. The 
next question is, " How far has the State provided for them, 
and what measures, either of instruction or aj)propriation, 
has the State taken ?" 

Here we may note four divisions of the great dependent 
class, to which education may be applied in different ways, 
viz : 1. The infirm class, whose defects may be either helped 
or cured by education. Such are the idiotic, the blind, and 
the deaf and dumb. 2. The youth, who -may be either 
assisted, reformed, or supported, according to their several 
cases. Such are juvenile offenders and orphans. 3. The 
permanent resident inmates in Infirmaries, Widows' 
Homes, and Hospitals. Many of these are ignorant. 4. 
The adult criminal class, several thousands of whom are 
constantly in prison. These make a dangerous class of com- 
munity, and it is a well ascertained fact that a very large 
proportion of these are ignorant also, although such crimes 
as forgery, or swindling, etc., require some education to 
make the criminal an adept. It is here that our system of 
laws and means for reformation fail more than in anything 
else. Some persons, beyond doubt, have criminal instincts, 
but the great body of criminals are the victims of a vicious 
state of society. 

Before we note the state of education in our penal, benevo- 
lent, and reformatory institutions, we will state the order 
in which these institutions have been created. It is as 
follows : 



396 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Ohio Penitentiary, established in 1815 

Oliio Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, in 1829 

Oliio Institution for the BUnd, in 1837 

Ohio Lunatic Asylum, in 1838 

Ohio Asylum for the Idiotic, in 1857 

Ohio Reform Farm School for Boys, in 1858 

Ohio Girls' Industrial School, in 18(59 

Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home, in 1871 

Cincinnati House of Eefuge, in 1851 

Cleveland Industrial School, in 1857 

Cincinnati Work-house, in 1869 

Cleveland Work-house, in 1870 

Cleveland House of Refuge, in 1871 

Cincinnati Orphan Asylum, in 1850 

These dates are valuable as showing that these institu- 
tions grow up and increase with the progress of Christian 
civilization. Only one of the whole number was known to 
the greatest and most civilized of heathen nations. 



INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND. 

This institution is located in Columbus. It has three 
departments of instruction — one of common literature and 
knowledge, one of music, and one of useful arts. Many of 
the pupils have been thoroughly educated. In addition to 
the elementary branches, history, rhetoric, natural philoso- 
phy, algebra, geometjy, analytical geometry, differential 
and integral calcitkis,, mental science, and Latin have been 
taught successfully. In the music department, the success 
has been extraordinary. It has been equally great in the 
work department. The kinds of Avork in which the blind 
can engage are necessarily limited in number, but, fortu- 
nately, they are remunerative. In the last year, there were 
taught broom-making, cane-seating, sewing, machine-sew- 
ing, bead-work, knitting, and accounts. An inquiry among 
the pupils who have gone out from the institution, shows 
that they have been quite successful in earning a livelihood. 



BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 397 

Broom-makers have averaged $243.41 per annum, and those 
engaged in mercantile pursuits, $764.28. Thirteen teachers 
are employed, three of whom are teachers of music, and four 
of domestic work. It is to be regretted that more of the 
unfortunate blind do not avail themselves of the advan- 
tages furnished by this institution. 

For three years from the commencement of the institu- 
tion, A. W. Penniman was in charge of the school. In 1840, 
Wm. Chapin was appointed superintendent and held the 
office for six years, followed by Mr. Penniman as acting 
superintendent for two years. George McMillen held the 
office from 1848 to 1852; R. E. Harte from 1852 to 1856; A. 
D. Lord from 1856 to 1868 ; and G. L. Smead from 1868 to 
the present time. Mr. Penniman, the first teacher, had been 
trained in the New England Institution for the Blind, under 
the care of the late Dr. Samuel G. Howe. Dr. Lord, before 
he entered the institution, had taken a very active and use- 
ful part in advancing popular education in Ohio. He was 
called away to take charge of the New York State Institu- 
tion for the Blind at Batavia, N. Y. Mr. G. L. Smead had 
been a successful teacher under Dr. Lord for several years, 
and became his worthy successor. The institution has never 
been more prosperous and useful than at the present time. 

INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB. 

This institution is located at Columbus. It is a kind of 
graded school, in which the pupils are advanced in studies 
as ftir as its means permit. There is a primary, a gram- 
mar, and an academic department. The course of study 
embraces the branches usually pursued in the public schools, 
including Latin, and requires ten years for its comj)letion. 
Twenty-four teachers are employed, who have an average of 
seventeen pupils each. The admission is free, and the 
yearl}'^ period of instruction is forty weeks. The vacation 
of twelve weeks is spent by the pupils at their homes. 



398 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The first principal of the institution was N. H. Hubbell, 
who Laid the foundations of its success wisely, and labored 
Avith great skill and energy for many years. Jle was 
succeeded by J. Addison Carey, who died within a year 
after his appointment. Rev. Collins Stone, followed Mr. 
Carey, and remained for eleven years, administering the 
affairs of the institution with rare ability and success. He 
resigned to take charge of a similar institution at Hartford, 
Conn. He was succeeded by Mr. George L. Weed, who re- 
mained for three years, rendering valuable service. His suc- 
cessor, the present superintendent, is Gilbert 0. Fay. The 
ten years during which Mr. Fay has been in charge, have 
been years of great prosjjerity. The institution has been 
exceedingly fortunate in its superintendents and teachers. 

ASYLUM FOR IDIOTIC AND IMBECILE YOUTH. 

This institution is, in its very nature, a school — one 
which takes the feeble-minded children and endeavors to 
educate them to some degree of usefulness. This is done 
with marked success. In the school, as in other schools, the 
elements of knowledge are taught, and a much larger num- 
ber acquire them than is generally supposed. Of the whole 
number under instruction in 1875, two hundred and fifty- 
three had been taught to read and write. It has been ascer- 
tained that one-third of the inmates can be -so trained as to 
be able to support themselves. The habits of the remainder 
can be greatly improved, and the burden of their care re- 
duced by proper physical and mental training. This is a 
result far beyond public expectation at the time the insti- 
tution was founded. 

The institution is under the general supervision of three 
trustees appointed by the State. The first superintendent 
was R. J. Patterson, M. D., who held the office from 1857 to 
1860. He was succeeded by G. A. Doren, M. D., the present 



BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 399 

superintendent. Under Dr. Doren's charge the institution 
has greatlj' prospered. The fine- buildings of the asylum 
are located on beautiful grounds in the western suburbs of 
Columbus. 

KEFORM FARM F'OR BOYS, 

This institution is located on the Hocking hills, south of 
Lancaster, Fairfield county, and occupies twelve hundred 
acres of land. Its object is the education and reformation of 
juvenile delinquents. With the exception of a class of 
" incorrigibles," who, being found incapable of restraint or 
reform at home, are admitted by the courts to the Farm, all 
the inmates have been guilty of minor offenses against the 
law. It is the first reformator}" in the United States founded 
upon the plan of a family. There are no walls, cells, or bars 
of iron to restrain the pujDils, and it is probably the only 
jjlace in the country where young criminals are treated on 
purely Christian principles. The experience of eighteen 
years has fully justified the experiment. 

In the conduct of the school, it is assumed that the young 
offender whose heart is not yet hardened, may, by kindness 
and instruction, be led to adopt a better life. This kindness 
is shown in such a practical form, that its reality and its 
object cannot be doubted. The pupil is made to see that 
the Farm is a home, made for his reformation and improve- 
ment. He is conducted to a " family building " — one of 
nine — where he is received by an " elder brother," who is 
henceforth to be his friend and counselor. This elder bro- 
ther may himself have been a pupil in the school ; at any 
rate, he understands the temptations and needs of young 
criminals. He is the head of a " family," and it is his 
duty, by acts of kindness, to lead those under his charge to 
think better of the world, and to begin a new life. The 
result of this treatment is most satisfactory. Of 704 in- 
mates, in 1875, but 30 attempted to escape. Many of those 
who run away, return voluntarily. 



400 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The managers of the institution have adopted methods of 
discipline and instruction which are impossible in any 
public school. The inmates are awakened at daAvn, and em- 
l)loy half of the day in labor and half in school, except an 
hour of rest or pla}' on the grounds, where there is nothing 
to temi)t or annoy them. On Sunday, there is public wor- 
ship and Sunday school, in the exercises of which the boys 
show both interest and aptitude. 

Instruction is given in labor, in the branches usually pur- 
sued in schools, and in religion. Each of the " elder bro- 
thers " engages more or less in all kinds of instruction. 
There are five female teachers^ six superintendents of work- 
shops, and a gardener. The boys are employed in cultivating 
the farm, in fruit raising, and in the making of boots and 
shoes, chairs, clothing, and other articles. For this work, 
they are divided into classes and properly trained. The 
school instruction proper is done as systematically and 
thoroughly as in the best of the public schools. The boys 
are in school about five hours each day. 

Of the boys admitted to the Reform School, nine-tenths 
are between the ages of ten and sixteen ; more than one- 
half of them have been convicted of some form of theft or 
robbery, and three-fourths have been found guilty of crimes 
of some kind ; two-thirds of them have lost either one or 
both parents, and one-third of the whole number can neither 
read nor write. Of the 2,270 who have been inmates since 
the establishment of the institution, 1,700 have gone out to 
meet the realities of life. Most of these have maintained 
their integrity, and become useful members of society. 
Among them may be found employes on railroads, me- 
chanics, farmers, clerks in business houses, and teachers. 

The Reform School took its rise from an appointment by 
the Legislature of Hon. Charles Remelin, Hon. J. A. Foote, 
and J. D. Ladd, Esq., as commissioners to visit the reform 
schools and houses of refuge of the country, and report a 



BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 401 

plan for something of the kind for Ohio. The investigation 
extended to Europe, where Mr. Remelin examined similar 
institutions in England, France, and Germany. As the 
result of their investigations, the "family system'' was 
recommended. The plan was accepted by the legislature, 
and the same commissioners were authorized to organize 
the institution. Mr. Remelin was appointed " Acting Com- 
missioner," and had a personal supervision of the school. 
He resigned in 1859, when Geo. E. Howe, Esq., was ap- 
pointed as his successor. Mr. Howe is still at the head of 
the institution. He has been ably and wisely aided by Mrs. 
F. M. Howe, whose personal influence over the boys has been 
very great, and whom they regard with filial love. To the 
personal devotion of Mr. and Mrs. Howe to the work, and to 
their peculiar sagacity and wisdom in wielding the moral 
force by which the school is chiefly ruled, the remarkable 
success and prosperit}' of the Reform Farm School is mainly 
due. They have ever had the s^^mpathy and co-operation of 
the commissioners, who have been remarkably devoted to 
the interests of the school. James D. Ladd, Esq., served 
as commissioner for nine years, Hon. J. A. Foote for eighteen 
years, and Rev. B. W. Chidlaw has held the position for the 
last ten years. 

girls' industrl^lL home. 

The Girls' Industrial Home is located at White Sulphur 
Springs, Delaware county. Like other reformatory institu- 
tions, it is emphatically a school. The inmates are ex- 
pected to devote half of each day to study and recitation. 
Instruction is given in reading, writing, spelling, arithme- 
tic, English grammar, geography, history, algebp, and 
natural philosoph}-. In addition to school instruction, the 
girls are taught needle-AVork, house-work, etc. They are 
grouped in families of thirty girls each. Each family is 
under the care of an assistant matron, a teacher, and a 
housekeeper. 



402 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The institution has but one superintendent, John Nichols, 
M. D. Mrs. Mary E. Nichols is the matron. Both are 
doing an excellent work, in instructing and reforming the 
girls under their care. 

soldiers' and sailors' orphans' home. 

This institution is located near Xenia, Greene county, on 
a farm of 275 acres. It may be said to be a continuation of 
the institution previously established in the same place by 
the "Grand Army of the Ohio." The '-family plan" has 
been adopted, and the children are distributed in twenty 
cottages or family buildings. The graded plan is followed 
in the school department. There are eleven grades or de- 
partments, including the high school. The schools are 
under the general supervision of the superintendent of the 
Home, but are conducted by a principal and ten female 
assistants. In addition to the schools there is an industrial 
department, in which are taught blacksmithing, tinning, 
tailoring, shoemaking, printing, dressmaking, and other 
industries. 

L. D. Griswold was the first superintendent. In 1874, 
A. E. Jenner, M. D., was appointed to the superinten- 
dency. He was succeeded by W. P. Kerr, in October of 
the same year. The Home is now under the superinten- 
dency of Capt. W. L. Shaw. 

THE OHIO penitentiary. 

The Ohio Penitentiary is located in Columbus, on the left 
bank of the Scioto. Its management is becoming one of the 
most important objects of care to the State — the more so, 
since no great progress has been made in reforming crim- 
inals, notwithstanding the existence of prison-discipline 
societies, and the trial of theoretic schemes to reclaim the 
lawless. Education, as a means of reformation, seems to be 



BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 403 

almost wholly neglected in the penal institutions of the 
country. As the great mass of criminals are very ignorant, 
it may fairly be presumed that education and moral culture 
are potent means to be used in their reformation. 

The educational advantages of the Penitentiar}'^ are lim- 
ited to (1) its discipline ; (2) to some opportunities for 
reading and occasional instruction ; (3) to the Sunday 
school. 

The discipline of the institution is admirable, and accom- 
plishes much, especially in physical training. The early 
rising, the simple food, and the regular Avork, all minister 
to the health of the body, but, unfortunatel}^ do little to- 
Avards increasing knowledge or improving the morals of the 
convicts. The institution is, hoAvever, a far better one with 
this discipline than Avithout it. 

The library contains 2,500 volumes, principally standard 
novels, histories, school readers, magazines, and Bibles. The 
prisoners are alloAved to subscribe for papers, if they pay 
for them from their private funds, and are permitted to re- 
ceive any reputable papers sent to them by their friends. 
They Avork from 6 A. M. to 6 P. M., in the summer, and 
from 7:30 A. M. to 4:30 P. M., in Avinter. After supper, 
they are permitted to read until 9 P. M. This gives an 
average of three hours each day for reading. Some of the 
jDrisoners improve the opportunity, and become quite intel- 
ligent. 

In order to secure religious instruction the PenitentiarA' 
has a chaplain. The prayer meeting on Sunday morning 
is attended by about 400 convicts, and the Sunday school 
has an attendance of nearly 900. Members of the Young 
Men's Christian Association and citizens of Columbus are 
teachers in this school. The chaptl services at 9 A. M. on 
Sunday are attended by nearly all the convicts. 

These are unquestionably advantages far superior to those 
afforded in any penal institutions of this kind a fcAV years 



404 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ago. The main object of the State, however, aside from 
that of punishment and confinement, has been to make the 
work of the convicts avaihible for their support. In this, 
success has been attained. The net earnings of the convicts 
in 1875, as appears from the rej^ort of that yea.Y, exceeded 
the expenses of the institution by $33,636.88. It remains 
for the experience of the future to determine, whether a 
portion of the time devoted to work would not be sjDent 
more usefully in intellectual and moral culture. 

CINCINNATI HOUSE OF REFUGE. 

The Cincinnati House of Refuge is similar to the Reform 
School. The school is systematically organized on the prin- 
ciple of work and study united — all the labor being done 
in workshops. Five schools hold two daily sessions, one 
hour in the morning, and two hours in the evening. The 
inmates are mostly from twelve to sixteen years of age, and 
very few of them have received any education. The main 
difficulty in the management of the institution arises from 
the fact that a large percentage of the pupils are discharged 
too soom Nevertheless, many have remained long enough 
to be essentially benefitted. The superintendent says : 
"^'The Refuge is in all particulars an industrial school. 
Every effort is here made to teach the children to read, and 
to write, and to work, and to train them to habits of indus- 
try and perseverance, hoping thus to make them useful 
citizens. " This object is in a large degree accomplished. 

Religious services are held every Saturday afternoon, con- 
ducted by ministers and laymen of every denomination. 

CLEVELAND HOUSE OF REFUGE. 

In Cleveland the House of Refuge is a part of the 
Work-house, and is called the "House of Refuge and Cor- 
rection." The Refuge department is, however, entirely sepa- 
rate, and is conducted in its general plan much the same as 



I 



BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 405 

that in Cincinnati. It is a school, uniting Avork and study. 
The children go to school at 7 A. M., and remain until 10^ 
A. M., and then work until noon. At 6^ P. M. they go to 
school again until 8 P. M. This gives five hours of study, 
and nearly an equal amount of work. 

The school is also supplied with books and magazines, 
partly by friends and partly by the board of education. 
It is soon to be separated from the Work-house. 

Religious services are conducted regularly every Sabbath 
by ministers of the city and young men of the Christian 
Association. 

CINCINNATI WORK-HOUSE. 

The work-house system is now so important and essential 
a part of city police, that some notice may be taken of it 
here, though its connection with education is slight. The 
Cincinnati Work-house is on the same general plan with 
the Ohio Penitentiary, except that the period of confine- 
ment in the Penitentiary is long, while that in the Work- 
house is short. The average period of confinement is only 
forty days. This is so short a time,, and there is so much 
uncertainty about it, that a regular school cannot be kept 
u^:). The main reliance is on systematic work. As in the 
case of institutions already mentioned, this Work does some- 
thing in the way of discipline ; yet the experience of the 
work-house system is th£lt inebriates and thieves are little 
benefited by it. Something is done to divert their minds. 
There are religious services ever}' Sabbath; there are also 
regular musical exercises and some amateur singing. The 
great difi^iculty with such an institution is, that its inmates 
are mostly the incorrigible. The young and improvable are 
sent to the House of Refuge. 

CLEVELAND WORK-HOUSE. 

This institution is quite similar to that of Cincinnati. Its 
main object is work for the short term prisoners, for whom 



406 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

no permanent provision can be made, and to make their 
work available. They have religious instruction on Sun- 
days, conducted by clergymen of different denominations 
in rotation. The Work-hoijse of Cleveland has a respectable 
library, principally given by the board of education. How 
completely a work-house congregation is composed of the 
incorrigible, may be learned by the following extract from 
the annual report of the directors : 

" Nearly three-fourths of the adults who are sent to the Cleveland 
"Work-house are sent for intoxication, or for crimes committed under 
the influence of intoxicating heverages. Of the entire number sent, 
about one-third can neither read nor write, while the remaining two- 
thirds, with few exceptions, have but a very indifferent common school 
education. All is done that i-easonablj' can be, while they are in prison, 
to effect their reformation ; but, as a general rule, very few of them go 
out permanently reformed. Experience has shown that it is morally 
impossible to correct the vicious appetites, and still more vicious prin- 
ciples of hardened criminals, within the short period of thirty or sixty 
days, which is the usual term of sentence." 

INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL OF CLEVELAND. 

This school is a purely benevolent enterprise, and is 
mainly dependent on the charity of the public. Its object 
is to provide for and restrain vagrant and destitute youth of 
the city, by educating them to become good and useful citi- 
zens. It is not only a benevolent enterprise, but an efficient 
police measure in restraining and preventing beggary and 
crime. In fine, it is on the same plane with the House of 
Refuge, except that it is ail individual and not a public 
charity. There is a principal school and two branches. 
The course of instruction requires the children to devote 
half the day to study, and the other half to work, such as 
domestic service, horticulture, or agriculture. They are also 
instructed in sound morality, cleanly habits, and respectful 
manners. No sectarian doctrines are taught, but the tend- 
ency of the institution is to teach the virtues, to save from 
vice, and to lead the youth to an honorable and useful 



BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 407 

life. Such has been the result with many, who, having 
been trained in this school, have reached positions of honor 
and trust, and now frankly acknowledge that they are 
indebted to this school for their success in life. 

ORPHAN ASYLUMS AND WOMEN's HOMES. 

There are three orphan asylums in Cincinnati, which 
have been in operation for many years, and probably con- 
tain an average aggregate of 400 children. There is a Chil- 
dren's Aid Society in this city, and another in Cleveland. 
There are also a Widow's Home, a Home for the Friendless, 
and a Boarding House for Women out of Employment, main- 
tained by the Women's Christian Association. There are 
similar institutions, doubtless, in Cleveland and other cities, 
but we have no means of ascertaining their statistics. 

All the orphan asylums have schools, either independent 
or connected with the public schools. The Cincinnati Or- 
phan Asylum sends its children to a public school near the 
institute. All of them, likewise, have religious services on 
Sunday. Each of the orphan asylums may, therefore, be 
considered as a school since education receives attention. 
When of proper age, the orphans are jjlaced in respect- 
able families. 

This department of iDublic charity, although managed by 
ver}^ different hands, and often under difficulties, is very 
well attended to in Ohio, and this class of unfortunate youth 
receive both care and instruction. 

The Widows' Home and the Home for the Friendless are 
of a character which render a school both unnecessary and 
impossible — the former being comprised wholly of the aged, 
and the latter of temporary inmates. 

COUNTY INFIRMARIES. 

There is a county infirmary in each of the counties of 
Ohio. These contain, in the aggregate, about 6,000 persons. 



408 



EDUCATION IN OHIO. 



This is only one-fifth of what may be called the dependent 
poor. Tlie remainder consists of what is called "out-door 
poor," all of whom, hoAvever, receive some public supjjort. 
In all the infirmaries there are children and youth capable 
of instruction, and the State has wisely provided that 
boards of education may sustain schools for their instruc- 
tion. How far this is done, we cannot tell ; but it is done 
in some of them, and may be in all if the directcfi'S con- 
sent. 

SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 

Having now reviewed, and given the results of education 
and reform in the penal, reformatory, and benevolent insti- 
tutions of the State, it may be useful to present the whole, 
as far as possible, in a tabular form, that we may see what 
has been done. 

The following table gives the whole number of inmates 
received, and the present number in each of the institu- 
tions named : 



Asylum for the Blind 

Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb 

Asylum for Idiotic and Imbecile Children. 

Reform Farm School for Boys 

Girls' Industrial Home 

Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home 

Ohio Penitentiary .-. 

Cincinnati House of Refuge 

Cleveland House of Refuge 

Cincinnati Work-house 

Cleveland Work-house 

Industrial School (Cleveland) 

Orphan Asylums, and "Homes" 

Infirmaries 



Totals 



50,926 



Number 


Numlier 


received. 


present. 


868 


1.58 


1,522 


488 


l,10u 


423 


2,270 


504 


299 


182 


900 


600 


11,063 


1,191 


3,482 


267 


350 


127 


18,072 


421 


4,000 


243 


5,000 


300 


2,000 


600 




6,000 





11,504 



This leaves out of view all the jails and lunatic asjdums, 
and it includes the Penitentiary and the work-houses, in 



BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 409 

which there is really no school education. Let us take then, 
what may properly be called the educational part of these in- 
stitutions, and consider the result. Of these, eleven classes 
are enumerated above, giving this result : whole number 
received, 17,791; present number in institutions, 3,649. 

Some of the institutions enumerated are of a recent date, 
and therefore present but a small number of inmates, but 
these are among the most promising. In all except the 
Penitentiary, schools are regularly sustained. 

There are two remarks to be made upon this statement of 
facts, without which a complete knowledge will not be had. 
First, several institutions are omitted, from the want of 
information, which could not be had in time. There are, 
for example, in Toledo, Zanesville, and probably other 
places, orphan asylums and special institutes, generally 
founded by private beneficence, which provide for portions 
of the dependent class. There are Children's Aid Societies, 
which directly or indirectly aim both to help and to educate 
destitute children. Secondly, there are other provisions of 
law for the education of the poor and destitute, the effect of 
which cannot be exactly ascertained. For example, there is a 
provision of law, already mentioned, that boards of education 
may provide schools for youths in infirmaries. It is impos- 
sible to say how far this law has been executed, but from the 
poor condition of many ^f the infirmaries, there is reason to 
believe that it has not been very effective. Again, there is 
a law which enables the counties to provide homes for the 
poor and neglected youth, and also that any two or three 
counties may unite for such an object. This has been 
carried into effect in a few counties, and is likely to prove a 
most beneficent provision. In fact, it enables each county 
to do for itself what the State has done in its "Homes." 
Washington county has such a home for its poor children, 
which has been a great success, and is a model school of its 
kind. 

27 



410 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

From this review and statement, it is evident that the 
State of Ohio, or some of its communities, has provided in 
various forms and in abundant measure for all the dependent 
class. It has provided education for all tile youth, whether 
of the criminal or the unprotected class. Its Fchools for 
reformation are not exceeded by any in the world. These 
are the best results of Christian wisdom, civilization, and 
progress. In all this, the people of Ohio rejoice, and pre- 
sent these results as an offering of first fruits from the first 
State of the North-west. 



CHAPTER XI. 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

It has been a matter of some delicacy to decide who of the 
l^rominent educational men of Ohio, ought to appear in the 
list of those whose biographical sketches should be included 
in this volume. It would not do to draw the line between 
the living and the dead. To include all the able and de- 
serving men now actively engaged in the prorriotion of edu- 
cation, would require a sjjace beyond the limits of a single 
chapter. It will be observed that none of the State Com- 
missioners of Common Schools appear in the list. It has 
not been the intention to include persons whose educational 
labors, although deserving of a grateful remembrance, have 
been confined to particular localities. The only exceptions 
that have been made, are Robert Steele, Esq., of Dayton, 
and Rufus King, of Cincinnati, whose long educational ser- 
vices and great prominence make it eminently proper that 
brief sketches should be allotted to them. 

It is to be regretted that a full sketch cannot be given of 
Nathan Guilford, of Cincinnati. Efforts were made to secure 
the necessary personal facts, but without success. The few 
facts given are such as the writer happens to have at hand. 
The law of February 21, 1849, was adopted in so many towns 
of Ohio by special vote, that it is fitting that a sketch of its 
author, the Hon. Samuel T. Worcester, should be given. The 
Hon. Harvey Rice's connection with the school law of 1853 
makes a sketch of his life also deserving a place with those 
who have promoted education in the State, 



412 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

It is a source of regret that these sketches do not include 
Alexander Kinmont, Horace Mann, Andrew Freese, and 
many others. Mr. Mann, however, was more prominently 
connected with education in Massachusetts than in Ohio, 
although he is held in grateful remembrance by many young 
men and teachers in the State in which he passed the last 
years of his active and useful life. Unfortunately, the 
sketch given of Albert Picket lacks details. 

EPHRAIM CUTLER. 

Ephraim Cutler was born at Edgarton. Martha's Vine- 
yard, Mass., April 13, 1767. He was the son of Rev. 
Manasseh Cutler, LL.D. He came to Ohio in 1795, and 
lived a few years in Ames, Athens county, and afterwards 
removed to Warren, Washington county, where he spent 
the- remainder of his life. His interest in the promotion 
of education doubtless arose, in a measure, from the fact 
that his father was the author of the famous educational 
provision in the ordinance of 1797. 

He was appointed, by the first territorial legislature, one 
of seven commissioners to lease all the ministerial and 
school sections in each township of the Ohio Company's 
lands. This was the first effort made by legislative author- 
ity to promote common school education in Ohio. In 1802, 
he was a member of the Constitutional Convention, and 
secured the adoption of the provision which imposes upon 
the General Assembly the obligation forever to "encourage 
schools and the means of instruction." 

After nearly twenty years' retirement from active polit- 
ical life, he was elected in 1819, a member of the General 
Assembly. As chairman of a special committee of the 
House of Representatives, he prepared a bill providing for 
the division of townships into school districts, for the build- 
ing of school-houses by money raised by levies upon the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 413 

taxable property of the districts, and for the partial pay- 
ment of teachers from the public funds. This bill passed 
the House by a vote of 40 to 20, but the General Assembly 
adjourned before the Senate acted upon it. 

In 1823, Mr. Cutler was elected Senator. He was a mem- 
ber of the school committee, and chairman of the com- 
mittee on revenue. In his efforts to secure the passage of a 
school bill he was ably supported by Nathan Guilford. This • 
bill passed the. Senate, January 26, 1825, by a vote of 28 
to 8, and the House, February 1, by a vote of 48 to 24. 
At this day, when our common school system is univer- 
sally popular, the intense earnestness with which Mr. Cut- 
ler followed up his favorite measure, cannot be properly 
appreciated. The imperfect law of 1825 cost far more 
labor than the subsequent acts based upon and supported 
by an advanced public sentiment. 

In addition to his legislative labors, he was, in 1823, ap- 
pointed one of seven commissioners, " to report a system of 
education adapted to common schools, " and also to collect 
information as to the condition and value of school lands. 
In June, 1822, three commissioners met at Columbus and 
organized their board by making Mr. Caleb Atwater chair- 
man. At this meeting, the folloAving counties were allotted 
to Mr. Cutler for the purpose of preparing educational sta- 
tistics : Scioto, Pike, Jackson, Lawrence, Gallia, Meigs, 
Athens, Hocking, Morgan, Monroe, and Washington. As 
appears from letters of Mr. Atwater to Mr. Cutler, the 
commissioners spent nearly three months in their investi- 
gations, and reported to the next legislature. 

As a private citizen Mr. Cutler was an active and earnest 
supporter of schools and all other means of instruction. The 
first school ever taught in his own neighborhood, near Mari- 
etta, was accommodated by the use of a room in his own 
house. ~It was~taught by the late Gen. John Brown, of 
Athens, Ohio. When residing in Ames, Athens county, he 



414 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

induced a younger brother, a graduate of Harvard, to teaok— . 
a school, a part of his house being used as a school-room. 
He was active in forming a local library — the first public ^ 
library in the West — obtained largely by proceeds of the sale 
of furs, and often called the "coon-skin librar3^ " The in- 
fluence of the good schools he helped to establish, and of 
this library upon the little community Avas very great. Mr. 
Cutler died on the 8th of July, 1853, in the eighty-seventh 
year of his age. 

NATHAN GUILFORD. 

The House of Representatives of the General Assembly of 
Ohio, in the winter of 1821-2, appointed a committee on 
schools and school lands. This committee, of which Caleb 
Atwater was chairman, urged in their report the necessity 
of liberal popular education, and recommended the appoint- 
ment of seven commissioners to devise and report upon a 
common-school system. The committee's report was ac- 
cepted in January, 1822, and Gov. Allen Trimble appointed 
Caleb Atwater, the Rev. John Collins, the Rev. James Hoge, 
Nathan Guilford, Ephraim Cutler, Josiah Barber, and James 
M. Bell, as the seven commissioners. They published three 
pamphlets to awaken jjublic interest, and recommended a • 
system of public schools based upon that of New York. 
Mr. Guilford declined to co-operate with the commissioners, 
"ecause he thought that the plans recommended were inade- 
quate to meet the needs of the State. He published a letter 
on free education, in which he urged a general county ad 
valorem tax. This letter was published by the General 
Assembly of 1823-4, with the report of the commissioners. 
The Assembly, however, was not wise enough to risk ad- 
vanced school legislation. An appeal to the people re- 
sulted in the election of a set of wiser men, among whom 
was Nathan Guilford, elected as Senator from Cincinnati. 
Ephraim Cutler was Mr. Guilford's coadjutor in urging for- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 415 

ward the work of education. Mr. Guilford was made chair- 
man of a joint committee on school 'legislation. He made 
an able report, and with it presented a bill, which required 
a tax of one-half a mill on the dollar to be levied for school 
purposes by the county commissioners, made township clerks 
and county auditors school officers, and provided for school 
examiners. The bill passed the Senate without amendment, 
by a vote of 28 to 8, and the House by a vote of 46 to 24. 

Mr. Guilford was elected superintendent of the public 
schools of Cincinnati in 1850, a law establishing such an 
office having been passed by the General Assembly of 
1849-50. He served two or three years. In his report of 
1852, in reference to immigrants to this country he said: 

"We must EDUCATE THEM ALL ! Universal suffrage and universal 
intelligence must go together. The State must provide the means of 
a good education freely to all. She must plant and liberally support 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS in every neighborhood, where the rising generations of 
all classes, without distinction of sex, rank, or nativity, may freely 
receive such mental and moral training as shall enable every indi- 
vidual to comprehend the genius of the institutions under which he 
lives; clearly to understand his rights and duties; to form judicious 
opinions of the measures of administration ; to distinguish the true 
from the counterfeit ; to despise the demagogue, and to honor the true 
l)atriot. 

■'The childrenjof our foreign population must, through the influence 
of these institutions, become Amerkanized, by mingling, in early life 
with our native youth, learning in the same schools obedience, order, 
self-control, and virtuous habits ; imbibing the principles of American 
republicanism, and becoming familiar with our language and history." 

In the same report he entered his protest against the 
memoriter system of recitation which had recently been 
adopted in the Central High School. 

ALBERT PICKET. 

All that is here given in reference to Albert Picket, is 
gathered from incidental references to him in educational 
periodicals. The labors of such a pioneer deserve a minute 



416 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

description, but unfortunately the materials for it are not at 
hand. 

He began in Now York City, in January, 1811, a periodical 
called the "Juvenile Monitor, or Educational Magazine." 
It is believed to be the first periodical of the kind published 
in the United States. It did not enter upon the second 
volume. In February, 1818, he, with J. W. Picket, started 
in the same city the " Academician " which was equally 
short-lived. The connection of Albert and J. W. Picket with 
educational periodicals in Ohio is referred to in the next 
chapter. 

Through the exertions of Albert Picket and Alex. Kin- 
mont, in 1829, there was organized in Cincinnati, the West- 
ern Academic Institute and Board of Education, from which 
originated the famous Western Literary Institute and College 
of Professional Teachers, before which, in 1834, he delivered 
the opening address, on the objects of the Institute. He after- 
wards delivered addresses and reports as follows : in 1835, on 
"Education;" in 1836, on "Parents, Teachers, and Schools;^' 
in 1837, on the " Formation of Character in Individuals ; " 
in 1838, on "Reforms in Education;" in 1839, on the 
" Qualifications of Teachers ; " and, in 1841, on the " Want of 
Education." When in Cincinnati, he Avas principal of the 
Cincinnati Female Seminary. He afterwards became a resi- 
dent of Delaware, Ohio, and in July, 1850, at the meeting of 
the Ohio Teachers' Association, in Springfield, there was 
presented by Mr. Williams a report prepared by Mr. Picket, 
on " Teaching Reading." 

The following is found in the Ohio School Journal, of Sep- 
tember, 1848, edited in Columbus, Ohio, by Dr. Lord (Vol. 
IIL, p. 138) : 

"Albert Picket, Sen., for many years Principal of the Manhattan 
School in this city, one of the most efficient and enterprising teachers 
of our country, is still living at Delaware, in Ohio. This gentleman, 
now in his 79th year, tau(i;ht half a century, and was always twenty 
years in advance of the majority of the profession. He always acted 



BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 417 

well his part, and he is still quickening and comforting those who 
labor for the cause of education. — Teachers^ Advocate (N. Y.). 

" We rejoice to meet, from the scene of his former toils, this just 
tribute to a veteran teacher. It has been our privilege, in addition to 
occasional correspondence, to enjoy the privilege of several cheering 
interviews with 'Father Pickett,' as he is affectionately and reverently 
styled here in Ohio, and, last autumn, to labor with him for a week in 
the instruction of a class of some hundred teachers. 

"It is matter of gratitude that he is permitted to spend the evening 
of his days so quietly and pleasantly in the family of a beloved and 
afTectionate son. But, as he looks back upon his life, what unutterable 
emotions and what varied recollections must throng the echoing cham- 
bers of his soul ! ' He taught for half a centur}^ ! ' and during that 
time laid his forming hand, as it were, upon some thousands of open- 
ing minds. In each and all of these minds, he awakened emotions, 
kindled aspirations, developed energies, and into all instilled principles, 
to which, but for him they might forever have been strangers. And 
these minds still live ! They are not of the perishable material upon 
which the architect, the painter, or the sculptor lavishes his labor and 
skill. The emotions awakened continue to thrill them ; the aspirations 
kindled, to elevate them ; the energies developed, to propel them ; 
and the principles instilled, to guide them onward through time and 
through eternity. Many of those on whom his forming influence was 
exerted, and to whom his instructions were imparted, are now filling 
important and responsible stations in life, and are in turn exerting a 
controlling influence in the formation of those who are to succeed 
them upon the stage ; others have passed from earth, but, whether in 
this or the unseen world, they still live, and the impressions made, 
and the influences exerted upon them, have done their work toward 
forming the characters they now possess, and which they will be likely 
to retain while canvas shall moulder and granite and marble crumble 
to dust. But perhaps one of the most interesting reflections which 
arise in the mind of the faithful teacher, on a review of his labors, is, 
that among all his pupils he has not a single enemy. Let others wear 
laurels and receive the plaudits of mankind, but give me the retro- 
spect of the famous teacher." 



JOHN L. TALBOT. 

John L. Talbot Avas born October 20, 1800, near Winches- 
ter, Frederick county, Va. With his parents he emigrated 
in 1806 to the Redstone settlement, in Washington county, 



418 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

Pa., where he resided till 1816, when he removed to Mt. 
Pleasant, Jefferson county, 0. In 1819, he descended the 
Ohio river on a raft and took up his permanent abode in 
Cincinnati. 

During his residence in Pennsylvania he usually attended 
school one quarter each year. His time in school was de- 
voted mainly to spelling and arithmetic, in which he 
excelled. In Cincinnati he served a short apprentice- 
ship to the carpenter's and joiner's trade, attending a 
night school taught by Cornelius King. At this school he 
went through Walsh's Arithmetic and studied trigono- 
metry, surveying, and navigation. Subsequently he was 
employed as an assistant in the school. 

In 1822, after having manufactured his furniture, he 
opened a school of his own, which was largely attended. 
He gave instruction to many youths, who in after years 
occupied prominent positions. 

In 1823", he assisted in organizing a society for the im- 
provement and elevation of teaching as a profession, and 
in 1828 in founding the Ohio Mechanics' Institute. About 
the same time he took part in the establishment of the 
Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Natural 
Sciences. In all these organizations Mr. Talbot was an ac- 
tive member, serving as secretary, treasurer, or actuary. 
From 1829' to 1845, he was an active member of the 
Academic Institute,, afterwards the Western Literary In- 
stitute and College of Professional Teachers. 

Mr. Talbot was the author of an arithmetic, which the 
writer remembers as the first he studied after Warren 
Colburn's. He is not able tO' state in what year the book 
was first published. A revised, enlarged, and improved edi- 
tion appeared in 1841. It was again copyrighted in 1845, 
with the title, ''The Western Practical Arithmetic." The 
copyright of this book having passed out of Mr. Talbot's 
hands, in 1843 he cop^^righted a new arithmetic called " The 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 419 

Scholar's Guide to the Science of Numbers. " Mr. Talbot 
still resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, having long since retired 
from the work of teaching. 



MILO G. WILLIAMS. 

Milo G. Williams was born in Cincinnati, April 10, 1804. 
His parents were natives of New Jersey. His father, Jacob 
Williams, came west in 1795, and settled in Cincinnati. 
In 1814, he retired from business, and removed to the 
countr}'. His farm formed what is now a part of the city- 
known as Camp Washington. He died in Cincinnati, in 
1840. 

Mr. Williams commenced his pedagogical career in 1820, 
and ended it in 1870, including the period of 50 years. His 
early education was limited to the merest elements of learn- 
ing. His first essay as a teacher was in the charge of the 
village school in which he had occasionally been a pupil. 
In this humble school, he recognized the beginning of a 
deep interest in the education of the young, the neces- 
sity of a practical education among all classes of our citi- 
zens ; and here also he was led to the knowledge of his 
deficiencies, and the necessity of his own improvement be- 
fore he could become a successful instructor. 

In his nineteenth year, Mr. Williams opened a private 
school in Cincinnati. Pupils came in gradually, and at the 
opening of the second year he needed more room. In a few 
years, he went to other rooms where he could have assistant 
teachers. He graded his classes and organized four de- 
partments. The study of constitutional law was success- 
fully introduced into this school. 

In 1833, Mr. Williams accepted the general supervision 
of a manual labor institution, established at Dayton. The 
question of connecting manual labor with literary institu- 
tions had been before the people for several years, and some 



420 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

of the best educators regarded it with favor. But the 
experience of a few years showed that the system was not 
well adapted to the wants of our country, and could not 
be employed successfully. 

The Dayton school was closed at the end of the second 
year, and Mr. Williams accepted the situation as principal 
of the Springfield High School, then about to go into opera- 
tion under the management of a board of trustees. The 
several departments were placed under able teachers, and it 
continued under this organization till 1840, when the prop- 
erty passsed into the hands of the conference of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. 

About this time the friends of the New Jerusalem Church 
(Swedenborgian) were completing their arrangements for 
opening a school in Cincinnati, in connection with the 
church, and Mr. Williams was made the principal. A year 
or two after, he was made a professor in Cincinnati College, 
then under the presidency of Dr. Biggs, and in 1844 he re- 
turned to Dayton trO re-organize the Dayton Academy. 

A meeting of gentlemen from different parts of Ohio was 
held in 'Urbana in the autumn of 1841), and it was agreed to 
found at Urbana an institution of learning in the interest 
of the New Jerusalem Church. A charter was obtained 
from the Ohio General Assembly, with university powers. 
The organization of the board of directors was completed in 
1850. Mr. Williams was appointed the president, ^nd to 
him was assigned the chair of science. He continued as 
the acting president of the facult}^ until 1870. 

Mr. Williams, from 1829 to 1852, was actively engaged in 
promoting the cause of education. In 1829 he assisted in 
organizing "The Western Literary Institute and Board of 
Education," which afterwards became, through his persis- 
tent effort, "The Western Literary Institute and College of 
Professional Teachers. " He was for ten years corresponding 
secretar}^ of this association and took an active part in all 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 421 

its proceedings. He was prominent in the series of educa- 
tional conventions, held in Columbus, beginning in 1836. 
In the convention of 1838 he made a report on the diversity 
of text-books, in which he opposed state uniformity, and a 
report on normal schools, in which he recommended the 
establishment of one in each Congressional district. He 
was an active member of the State Teachers' Association 
until 1852, when his duties at the Urbana University made 
regular attendance impracticable. Mr. Williams still re- 
sides in Urbana. 

SAMUEL LEWIS. 

It is fitting that the name of Samuel Lewis should occupy 
a leading place in the brief notices designed to commemorate 
the life and labors of the early educators of Ohio. Among 
the first in point of time, he was also pre-eminently so in 
the eloquence, the persistency, and the rare disinterested- 
ness with which, for the greater part of an active life, he 
advocated the right of the poor and ignorant to the benefits 
of a common school education. He was the first to make 
himself thoroughly and personally acquainted with the 
inefficiency of the school laws, the ignorance of teachers, 
the wretched hovels in which the youth of the rural dis- 
tricts were herded together for two or three months in the 
year, the waste and dishonesty in the management of the 
school fund, arising from the sale of public lands; all these, 
and kindred abuses, encountered in him a stern foe. 

He was born in Massachusetts, March 17, 1799, but Ohio, 
in whose interests his strength was poured out, proudly 
claims him as her own. His parents were poor, and "■ strong 
necessity, supreme 'mong sons of men," was the nurse of 
his youth, and may be said to have aocompanied him 
through life. His father, the captain of a small coasting 
vessel, having lost what little property he posse'ssed, deter- 
mined to try his fortune in what was then considered the far 



422 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

west. In 1813, the entire family, consisting of father, mother, 
and nine children, left the,ir home by the sea, and began 
their journey westward. For the father and. sons, this 
meant traversing the entire distance as far as Pittsburgh 
on foot. There a flat-boat was purchased, on Avhich they 
floated down the river as far as Cincinnati. There the 
work of his life began. At fifteen, he is Avorking on a farm 
at seven dollars a month, his wages going to his father. 
Then having learned a trade, he pays his father fifty dollars 
a year for his time — a strong proof that parental authority 
asserted itself in those days. 

Working, studying, laboring with head and hand at what- 
ever was honorable, sustaining and improving, at the age of 
twenty he resolved to study law. The industry and self- 
denial with which he prosecuted his studies, remind one 
forcibly of the same qualities, as evinced in the life of 
Horace Greeley. 

In 1824, he was licensed as a local preacher in the Metho- 
dist Church, of which he had been an earnest and consistent 
member from the age of ten years. His powers as an orator 
were now often exerted in behalf of temperance and popular 
education. His interest and labors in the latter cause at this 
. period still survive in the two high schools of Cincinnati. 
A trustee of both, he may almost be said to have called the 
Woodward school into existence by his advice, made influ- 
ential by his personal friendship for the founder. 

The active, intelligent teachers of the State, who knew 
what must be done, how deep and broad the foundations 
must be laid, on which should rise the superstructure that 
was to gather within its sheltering walls the future youth, 
were not long in ascertaining that in Samuel Lewis all their 
wants would be met. In 1837, he was elected State Super- 
intendent by the legislature. The limits of this sketch 
will not permit an extended account of the herculean tasks 
he performed in his new sphere. The wliole State was to be 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 423 

awakened to the necessities of the hour. There was no net- 
work of railways connecting distant counties ; the circuit 
rider's mode of locomotion was then the only practicable 
one. In his crusade against ignorance, he rivalled in en- 
thusiasm a medieval knight. The first 5^ear he traveled 
over fifteen hundred miles, chiefly on horseback, quickening 
school officers, parents, and teachers, and collecting and ar- 
ranging facts to be embodied in his first report to the Gen- 
eral Assembly. In that report, he seems to have been gifted 
with a rare prescience. It gave shape and consistenc}^ to 
the school law passed at that session, and many of its sug- 
gestions have stood the test of time, and are to-day in active 
operation. For the first year his salary was five hundred 
dollars. The Superintendent's salary was then fixed at 
twelve hundred dollars. The law also made him editor of a 
monthly journal, to be published at the expense of the State. 
This journal, the " Common School Director, " he edited for 
one year, in addition to his other labors. It was then discon- 
tinued, no provision having been made for its future support. 

Mr. Lewis's labors as Superintendent ceased in 1839, when 
he resigned his office, his health having been greatly im- 
paired by the hardships incident to his work. 

It can not be denied that he had met with much opposi- 
tion. No revealer of abuses or apostle of a new gospel 
escapes. The large-hearted measures, recommended by him 
had awakened a spirit of parsimony which succeeded in 
repealing some of the provisions of the law of 1837. But 
the work had been too well done to be overthrown by the 
malice of the few, and the cause of popular education had 
received an impetus which it has never lost. 

The temperance and the anti-slavery causes both received 
a large share of Mr. Lewis's attention in the latter years of 
his life. He was frequently a candidate of the Liberty party 
for various state offices, and his stirring, winning eloquence 
still lives in the memory of man3^ Exhausting work for 



424 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

his fellow-men had worn him out before his time, and in 
1854 death came to him not unexpectedly. He died as he 
had lived, happy, hopeful, and fearless. 

CALVIN E. STOWE. 

Many unacquainted with the early educational history of 
our State, will wonder to see the name of C. E. Stowe, whom 
they have always associated with the East, in the list of her 
public school benefactors. To the pioneers in the great work 
no explanation will be necessary ; they will remember him 
as an able champion in the early days of the battle with 
ignorance. 

Calvin E. Stowe, or as he is popularly known, Professor 
Stowe, Avas born at Natick, Mass., in 1802. His early his- 
tory is that of many New England boys — very limited means, 
very strong thirst for knowledge, and a will which ultimately 
attained the goal of his ambition, a college education. He 
graduated at Bowdoin College, Maine, in 1824. After having 
graduated from Andover in theology, and filled the chair of 
professor of languages in Dartmouth, he accepted, in 1833, 
the professorship of Biblical Literature in Lane Theological 
Seminary. Here his connection Avith our subject begins. 
He recognized at once the great need of the West — common 
schools — and he set himself to Avork to advance their cause, 
in common with Samuel Lewis, Dr. McGuffey, and other 
public spirited citizens. He visited Europe in 1836, on 
business connected with the Seminary, bearing Avith him 
also an official appointment by the legislature to examine 
into the system and management of European schools, par- 
ticularly those of Prussia. 

On his return, in 1837, he submitted his noted "Report 
on Elementary Education in Europe." A copy was sent to 
every school district in the State, and it Avas republished 
and largely circulated by the legislatures in other states. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ' 425 

In it, thoroughness, freedom from routine and from slavish 
subservience to a text-book, were particularly enjoined upon 
teachers. Ui^on the necessity of training or normal schools, 
he delivered an able address in 1838, before the State Edu- 
cational Convention, in Columbus, at which Gov. Shannon 
presided. Of the Western College of Teachers, he was an 
active member, contributing from time to time valuable 
papers on the subjects which came up for discussion. In 
1850, he returned to Andover, Mass., where the greater part 
of his life has since been spent. He still lives, having 
passed the psalmist's limit of three score years and ten. 

DR. WM. H. M'GUFFEy. ' 

The history of school books exhibits in a marked degree 
the uncertainty of popular favor. " The Eclectic Series of 
Readers," so well known throughout the length and breadth 
of the land, has been a rare exception. The author, Dr. 
Wm. H. M'Gufifey, was born in 1800, in Trumbull county, 
Ohio. Unaided, he succeeded by unremitting toil, mental 
and physical, in preparing for college, and graduated at 
Washington College, Pa., in 1825. His life henceforth was 
devoted to the profession of teaching. He was soon ap- 
pointed professor of ancient languages in Miami University, 
where he remained until 1836, when he was called to the 
presidency of Cincinnati College. He remained in that 
position three years, and then accepted a similar one in the 
Ohio University. During all these years, he was active in 
the cause of popular education, then beginning to be widely 
discussed, and rendered efficient aid in teachers' conventions 
both by pen and presence. He was a read}', fluent speaker, 
using no manuscript, and impressing himself upon his 
audience both by voice and eye. 

In 1845, he accepted a professorship in the University of 
Virg'inia, which he held until his death in 1873. 

28 



426 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

SAMUEL GALLOWAY. 

The State Teachers' Association of Ohio was founded in 
1847. Samuel CraUoway, the subject of this brief sketch, 
Avas the first president. He was born in Gettysburgh, Pa., 
in 1811. He removed to Ohio in ea,rly youth, and graduated 
at Miami University, at the.age of twenty-two. For several 
vears he engaged successfully in, teachin,g, until failing 
health induced him to change his employment, and, having 
studied law, he Avas admitted to the bar in 1842.. He shortly 
afterward removed to Columbus, where he resided until his 
death in 1873. 

His election as Secretary of State made him ex-officio State 
Superintendent of Common Schools, and brought him into 
direct association with the leading educators throughout the 
State. The cause of popular education undoubtedly owes 
much to his efforts. His reports to the legislature, embody- 
ing many valuable suggestions, did much to call public atr 
tention to the subject, and prepare the way for the legisla- 
tion which soon followed. It is gratifying to note, that 
though Mr. Galloway's special sphere was mainly that of 
lawyer and politician, he did not remain unmindful of^ 
other claims. His wit, his learning, and his eloquence 
were freely used in behalf of all measures tending to the 
improvement of humanity. 

DR. ASA DEARBORN LORD. 

There are few who have served their country in the train- 
ing of its youth, more deserving of its love and gratitude, 
than Dr. Asa D. Lord. He was born in Madrid, St. Law- 
rence county, New York, June 17, 1816. His early youth 
was passed on a farm. From his mother, who had herself 
been a most successful teacher, he is said to have inherited 
his love of study. In 1839, he accepted the position of prin- 
cipal of the Western Reserve Teachers' Seminary, at Kirt- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 427 

land, Ohio, which he held for eight 3'ears. Here his zeal, 
his energy, his professional enthusiasm, his interest in all 
who strove for something better than the}' had yet known, 
were signally displayed. He made the seminary a center to 
which the 3'outh of both sexes crowded from the adjoining 
counties. Many of these have since occupied useful and 
honorable positions as teachers, cherishing with the warm- 
est gratitude the memory of him who first kindled in their 
young hearts a love for the teacher's calling. Here, in 1843, 
was held what was in substance the first Teachers' Institute 
in the State. 

From Kirtland, Dr. Lord removed to Columbus. Here he 
inaugurated the first graded school in the State. He had 
had the system under consideration for some time, and had 
become satisfied that it offered the best advantages to the 
children of towns and villages. For his services as super- 
intendent and as principal of the high school, he received 
the first year a salary of $600, of which $100 was contrib- 
uted by a public spirited citizen. 

Dr. Lord's services as editor of the "Ohio School Journal," 
the "School Friend," the "Public School Advocate," and 
"Ohio Journal of Education" are referred to in the next 
chapter. 

For one year, his connection with the schools of Columbus 
was suspended, while he acted as agent of the State Teach- 
ers' Association, which he had been active in establishing. 

He had, while at Kirtland, taken his degree in medicine. 
He now added to his other labors a course of systematic 
theology, and, in 1863, was licensed to preach b}' the Pres- 
bytery of Franklin. Those who knew him well assert that 
he never intended to practice either calling exclusivel5^ He 
strove to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the wants 
of both soul and bod}^, that he might the better administer 
to those committed to his care. He made the Institution for 
the Blind, at Columbus, to which he was appointed in 1856, 



428 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

an honor and a blessing to the State. He taught its pupils 
valuable lessons in work-shop and school-room, and thus 
won to his views legislators of widely different politics, who 
voted liberally for the erection of a building in which his 
plans could be successfully carried out. Fully aware of the 
extent and results of his labors, he saw that the work which 
he had set for himself was well-nigh done, yet he resolutely 
accepted in 18G8 a call to a similar institution, in Batavia, N. 
Y. — a call to harder work and diminished salary. Here he 
pursued the same course until his death, in 1874. 



DR. JOSEPH RAY. 

The name of Dr. Joseph Ray is held in grateful remem- 
brance by many for his works on algebra and arithmetic, 
which robbed mathematics of its terror for the young begin- 
ner. He was born in Ohio county, Va., in November, 1807, 
and evinced from early youth great fondness for study, and 
an earnestness of purpose which supported him under many 
discouragements. He entered Washington College, Pa., sup- 
porting himself by teaching at intervals, but left without 
taking a degree. 

Turning his attention to medicine, he graduated from the 
Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, but in October of the same 
year entered upon the profession of teacher, and adhered to 
it through life. Henceforward, his history as teacher is 
bound up with that of Woodward College, afterwards Wood- 
ward High School, first as professor and afterwards as presi- 
dent, which office he held at the time of his death, in April, 
1856. 

In all these years, Dr. Ray was prominently identified 
with the leading teachers of the State and the great cause 
which they had at heart. He was rarely absent from the 
meetings of the State Teachers' Association, and in 1852 
was elected its president. 



^ BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 429 

LORIN ANDREWS. 

Lorin Andrews was born in Ashland county, 0., on the 1st 
of April, 1819. His boyhood was spent in labor upon his 
father's farm. When eighteen years of age, he entered the 
grammar school at Gambler, and afterwards Kenyon College. 
The strong religious element in his character, which mani- 
fested itself in his future life, was here first awakened under 
the teaching and personal influence of Bishop Mcllvaine. 
In 1840, he engaged as an assistant in an academy at Ash- 
land. He afterwards taught for a time at Mansfield; but 
returned and took charge of the Ashland Academy, at the 
same time pursuing the study of law. In 1847, he was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and the same year was called to the super- 
intendency of the public schools of Massillon. 

Mr. Andrews was active in the organization of the State 
Teachers' Association in 1847. He acted as its agent in 
1851-2-3, was recommended as the choice of the Association 
for the ofifice of State Commissioner of Common Schools, in 
1S53, and Avas elected its president the same year. He was 
elected President of Kenyon College in 1853, and held the 
office until his death. 

When the call for volunteers was made in 1861, he was 
the first man to respond. He recruited a company in Knox 
county, and soon after was appointed Colonel of the 4th 
Regiment of Ohio Infantry, and detailed to service in AVest- 
ern Virginia. His regiment soon became noted for its disci- 
pline and efficiency. In the midst of his duties he was 
attacked by camp fever, of which he died at Gambler, on 
the 18th of September, 1861, universally beloved and deeply 
lamented. 

MARCELLUS F. COWDERY. 

M. F. Cowdery was born in Pawlett, Rutland county, Vt., 
in 1815. He spent his early life in western New York. 
After an attendance for several years at a district school, he 



430 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

entered the academy at Wyoming, New York, and subse- 
quently that at Canandaigua, one of the eight institutions 
that received legislative aid for the education of teachers. 
In 1836, Mr. Cowdery began the work of teaching in Ohio, 
and taught in district and private schools until 1841, when 
he became connected with the Western Reserve Teachers' 
Seminary, of which Dr. Lord was then principal. Here he 
met with many who had taught in the public schools, or 
were preparing to teach, and his attention was thus turned 
to consider the defects in the common school system. From 
1845 and onward, Mr. Cowdery labored faithfully in the in- 
terests of the schools of the State, attending nearly all the 
earlier institutes, meeting with others at Akron, in 1847, 
to organize the State Teachers' Association, instructing 
in the normal class at Norwalk, and every where labor- 
ing by word and work, to infuse into others the "same 
interest and diligence which he himself felt and exhibited. 
In November, 1848, he commenced his labors in Sandusky, 
and, excepting one interval of about seven months in 1863-4, 
continued in the superintendency until July, 1870. 

Few have been associated with Mr. Cowdery, either as 
teachers or pupils, without acquiring something of the earn- 
est, conscientious spirit he brought to his work, and of his 
desire for the physical, moral, and intellectual well being of 
those intrusted to his care — in a word, for their education in 
its broadest signification. His well known collection of 
"Moral Lessons" illustrates the spirit of the man. 

ISAAC SAMS. 

Isaac Sams was born in Bath, England, November 12, 
1788. He first taught in England in 1813, but in 1818. 
having become fascinated by Morris Birbeck's account of 
the United States, he came to Maryland and established a 
boarding school, which he conducted for seventeen years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 431 

with eminent success. In 1835, lie removed to Brooklyn, 
N. Y., in order to extend the field of his exertions. His 
school soon became very popular. His health utterly fail- 
ing, he was compelled, in a short time, to retire to an estate 
which he had purchased near Hillsborough, Ohio. 

After ten years spent in farming, his health being re- 
stored, he took charge of the Hillsborough Academy, and 
conducted it for &ix years. He then turned his attention to 
the establishment of a union school in Hillsborough. In 
this school he taught mathematics for one year, and for 
three years acted as superintendent. 

In 1838, he was appointed a member of the board of school 
examiners of Highland county, which position he held for 
many years. In 1851, he was elected president of the State 
Teachers' Association. He continued teaching until 1862. 
He still resides in Hillsborough, at the advanced age of 
eighty-seven. 

WILLIAM NORRIS EDWARDS. 

Mr. Edwards was born in Pittsfield, Mass., July 4, 1812, 
and graduated at Williams College. The writer became ac- 
quainted with him about a quarter of a century ago, when 
he conducted a private academy in Dayton, Ohio. In 1852, 
he became superintendent of the public schools of Troy, 
Ohio, and continued to. serve the people there acceptably 
until his sudden death, August 3, 1867. He had a strong 
hold upon the confidence and affection of the people of T.roy, 
His funeral was largely attended^ many of the business 
houses being closed, and private residences draped in mourn- 
ing. Those who for many years met Mr. EcJwards in. the 
meetings of the >State Teachers' Association, learned to ap- 
preciate his worth. He was elected president of the Asso- 
ciation in 1861, but did not preside at the next meeting, 
beiiig detained" at homeby illness. Mr. Edwards was a man 
of great culture, and his djeliberation. befoiie he- acted or 



432 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

recommended action made him a safe counselor. He will 
long be remembered with gratitude by the jjupils trained 
under his guidance, and with the highest respect by his 
fellow teachers, 

SAMUEL T. WORCESTER. 

Samuel T. Worcester Avas born in Hoi lis, N. H., August 
30, 1804. He entered Harvard College in 1826, and gradua- 
ted in 1830, in the class of which Charles Sumner was a 
member. After leaving college he taught a little more than 
a year at Weymouth, Mass., and afterwards, for nearly a 
year, conducted a private academy at Cambridge. He then 
began to study law at Hollis, and continued the study at 
the Harvard Law School. In the spring of 1834 he removed 
to Norwalk, Ohio, where, after residing the legal time, one 
year, he was admitted to the bar, in 1835. 

Mr. Worcester remained a citizen of Norwalk until 1867, 
when he returned to New England to engage in the settle- 
ment of the estate of his deceased brother, Joseph E. Wor- 
cester, the lexicographer. 

During his residence in Norwalk, he took an active inter- 
est in the efforts to improve the condition of the schools in 
that place and vicinity. In consequence of his known de- 
sire to have the school laws of the State made more efficient 
he was elected Senator in 1848. Upon the meeting of the 
General Assembly in December of that year, he was ap- 
pointed chairman of the Senate committee on common 
schools. He drafted the bill, which afterwards became a law, 
February 22, 1849, and which Avas not repealed until the 
passage of the codified school laAV of May 1, 1873. This bill 
Avas an improvement upon the Akron laAA^ of 1847 in reliev- 
ing boards of education from any dependence upon the action 
of toAvn or city councils. The bill passed the Senate Avith- 
out amendment and Avithout opposition. It also passed the 
House Avithout amendment and Avithout serious opposition. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ; 433 

although some of the members had a doubt as to the consti- 
tutional right of the voters of a town or city to tax the peo- 
ple for the support of education. The next winter Mr. 
Worcester reported some amendments to this law, and also 
to the Akron law, to enable cities and towns that had 
adopted the latter to adopt the law of 1849. 

HARVEY RICE. 

The school law passed by the General Assembh^ March 
1, 1853, was chiefly prepared by the Hon. Harvey Rice, of 
Cleveland, a member of the Ohio Senate, and chairman of 
the committee on common schools. Mr. Rice was born in 
Massachusetts, June 11, 1800, and graduated at Williams 
College. He came to Ohio in 1824, and settled in Cleveland. 
For a short time he engaged in teaching while preparing 
for the practice of the law, upon which he soon entered. 
Mr. Rice's abilities and worth were soon recognized by his 
fellow townsmen, who manifested their appreciation by 
electing him to various important offices in the county, and 
to a seat in the lower house of the General Assembly. 

In 1851, Mr. Rice was elected to the Senate. The session 
which followed was a very important one. Ohio had out- 
grown her old constitution, and this was the first meeting 
of her legislature under the provisions of the new. It was 
evident to all who had watched the growing educational 
needs of the State, tliat the school system needed a thorough 
revision. Since the passage of the act of 1838, the popula- 
tion of the State had more than doubled, and its resources 
had increased in a still greater ratio. Mr. Rice addressed 
himself to the work of procuring the passage of an act for 
the reorganization of the common schools, and providing 
for their supervision. The bill passed the Senate with but 
two negative votes. He had previously taken a prominent 
part in the passage of an act providing for the establish- 



434 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ment of two asylums for lunatics, and he now advocated the 
establishment of a State Reform School, at that time a 
novel idea. A few years saw it in successful operation. 

Mr. Rice still lives in Cleveland. He has lived to see the 
State of his adoption enjoy the fruit of his labors, to see her, 
in his own Avords,. "lead the column in the cause of popular 
education and human rights. " His active life as a politi- 
cian and public spirited citizen has not prevented the culti- 
vation of his taste for literature. He is Avell known as a 
graceful writer, both in prose and verse. A volume of his 
poems has been published. 

EGBERT W. STEELE. 

Robert W. Steele, for more than thirty years a member of 
the board of education of Dayton, is the son of one of the 
earliest jjioneers of that city. His father was a man of con- 
siderable prominence in the early history of that part of the 
State, and took a deep interest in popular education long 
before the establishment of the public school system. His 
public spirit in this and kindred matters seems to have 
been largely inherited by his son, the subject of the present 
sketch, who was born in Dayton in 1819. Mr. Steele still 
resides in the city of his birth, whose growth and interest 
he has watched with untiring care. He prepared for college 
at the Dayton Academy, and graduated from the Miami 
University in 1840. In 1842, he began his long connection 
with the public schools, by acting as a member and clerk of 
the board of managers, then appointed by the city council. 
For twelve years he served as president of the board, perma- 
nently retiring in 1875. 

RUFUS KING. 

Rufus King, of Cincinnati, beai's an. honored najiie. His 
grandfather was an eminent patriot and statesman of Revo- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 435 

lutionary times. His father, Edward King, came to Ohio at 
an early day, established himself as a lawyer at Chillicothe, 
and rose to eminence in his profession. His son, Rufus, was 
born in 1817. He graduated at Harvard University, and 
has, for many years, been a. leading lawyer of Cincinnati. 
For fifteen years Mr. King was a member of the board of 
education of that city, and for twelve of these years its presi- 
dent. He took an active part in re-organizing the public 
schools, and his labors have contributed largely to their in- 
creased usefulness. The high schools of the city are gov- 
erned by a separate board, and of this board Mr. King Avas 
also a member for many years. 

In 1853, Mr. King urged upon the Hon. H. H. Barney, 
State Commissioner of Common Schools, the importance of 
consolidating the public school libraries in cities. Mr. 
Barney decided that this could be done, and thus the way 
was prepared for the formation of a great central library 
in Cincinnati. Mr. King is now president of the board of 
trustees of the Cincinnati University, which has under its 
care the McMicken fund, the Schools of Art and Design, 
and the Cincinnati Observatory. 



CHAPTER xrr. 

EDUCATIONAL PERIODICALS. 

Educational periodicals have done much to promote the 
cause of education in Ohio, although the earlier ones were 
short-lived. Of some of them the writer knows nothing 
more than the fact of their publication. 

The first annual meeting of the Western Academic 
Institute and Board of Education, also considered the first 
anniversary of the College of Professional Teachers, was 
held June 20fch, 1831. The institute appointed a committee 
to conduct a periodical to be called " The Academic Pio- 
neer, " the first number of which appeared in July, and 
contained the proceedings and addresses of the meeting 
the preceding month. The periodical was not continued, 
for want of patronage. A second number appeared in De- 
cember, 1832, which contained the proceedings of the second 
annual meeting. 

There is a record that there appeared in 1834, at Oxford, 
a periodical called " The Schoolmaster and Academic Jour- 
nal." No additional facts in reference to it are at hand. 

"The Common School Advocate," was begun in Cincin- 
nati ill 1837, and discontinued in 1841.^ 

"The Universal Educator" was started in January, 1837, 
in Cincinnati, but it is not known how long it was con- 
tinued. 

" The Western Academician," edited by John W. Picket; 
was started in March, 1837, and adopted as the organ of 
the College of Professional Teachers. It was continued but 
one year. 



EDUCATIONAL PERIODICALS. 437 

The "Ohio Common School Director, " under the editor- 
ship of the Hon. Samuel Lewis, State Superintendent of 
Common Schools, appeared in May, 1837. It was published 
under the authority of the General Assembly. At the 
close of the session of 1837-8, no api^ropriations being made 
for its support, it was discontinued. 

"The Pestalozzian " was started at Akron in April, 1838, 
by E. L. Sawtell and H. K. Smith. The last number was 
published the same year. 

" The Educational Disseminator" Avas started in Cincin- 
nati in July, 1838, by S. Picket, Sr., and J. W. Picket, M. D. 
It was soon discontinued. 

" The Ohio School Journal, " the first number of which is 
dated at Kirtland, July 1, 1846, was edited by Asa D. Lord. 
This journal marks an era in Ohio educational journalism. 
At the time of the starting of this journal, there were but 
four other school journals published in the United States — 
one in Boston, one in Providence, one in Albany, and one 
in Syracuse. Four or five more were started within the 
next three months. The first volume, consisting of only six 
numbers, Avas published at Kirtland. The subsequent vol- 
umes were published at Columbus. Its publication as a 
separate journal ceased in December, 1849. 

"The School Friend," was started in Cincinnati, in 
October, 1846, by W. B. Smith & Co., publishers of the 
Eclectic School Books. In 1848, Mr, Hazen White was an- 
nounced as the editor. In January, 1850, the " Ohio School 
Journal " was united with the " Sshool Friend, " under the 
title, " The School Friend and Ohio School Journal. " It 
was published in Cincinnati. Its editorial dejDartment was 
under the management of Dr. Asa D. Lord, superintendent 
of the Columbus imblic schools, H. H. Barney, principal of 
the Cincinnati Central High School, and Cyrus Knowlton. 
The last number of this journal was issued in Sei^tember, 
1851, without any announcement of discontinuance. 



438 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

The " Free School Clarion " was started in Massillon in 
Nov., 1846, by Dr. W. Bowen. In 1848, it passed into the 
hands of Lorin Andrews, superintendent of the schools at 
Massillon, and M. D. Leggett, superintendent of the schools 
at Akron. Under Dr. Bowen's management, it reached a 
circulation of 700. It was discontinued in 1849 or 1850. 

The "Western School Journal," a monthly devoted to 
the cause of education in the Mississippi Valley, was started 
in Cincinnati in !March, 1847, by W. H. Moore & Co. Like 
the "School Friend," it was at first sent free to teachers, 
but with No. 7, of the second volume, October, 1848, the 
price was fixed at 50 cents per annum. It was discontinued 
in 1849. 

"The Ohio Teacher," edited by Thos. Rainey, author of 
an arithmetical work on cancellation, called "The Abacus," 
was begun in May, 1850, and Avas published at Columbus 
and Cincinnati. With the fourth number Cleveland Avas 
added to the places of publication. It is not known when 
the last number was issued. 

The " American Educationist and Western School Jour- 
nal" was started in Cleveland, in Jan., 1852, with B. K. 
Maltby aseditor. It is not known how many numbers were 
issued. It was discontinued the same year. 

"The Ohio Journal of Education" began its existence in 
Columbus in January, 1852, under the auspices of the Ohio 
State Teachers' Association, Avith the following named edi- 
tors : A. D. Lord, Columbus; M. F. Cowdery, Sandusky; H. 
H. Barney, Cincinnati; I. W. Andrews, Marietta; J. C. 
Zachos, Dayton ; Andrew Freese, Cleveland. Dr. Lord acted 
as the chief editor. The Journal was printed on better paper 
than any of its predecessors, and its general tyi^ographical 
execution was excellent. In 1853, C. Knowlton, of Cincin- 
nati, and S. N. Sanford, of Granville, appear in the list 
of editors, instead of H. H. Barne3^ In 1854 and 1855, 
Joseph Ray, of Cincinnati, and A. Holbrook, of Marlboro, 



EDUCATIONAL PERIODICALS. 439 

appear in the list instead of Messrs. Zachos and Knowlton. 
With the Februarj' number, of 1856, the Rev. Anson Smyth, 
superintendent of the Toledo public schools, became editor 
of the Journal, by a vote of the executive committee of the 
State Teachers' Association. John Ogden, of Hopedale, E. 
E. White, of Cleveland, and Alphonso Wood, of College 
Hill, succeeded S. N. Sanford, Andrew Freese, and Joseph 
Ray as associate editors. 

In February, 1857, Mr. Smyth, having been elected State 
Commissioner of Common Schools, was succeeded by John 
D. Caldwell, of Cincinnati. In the list of associate editors, 
Wm. S. Palmer, of Cleveland, W. H. Young, of Athens, 
and Wm. N. Edwards, of Troy, succeeded Messrs. Holbrook, 
Ogden, and Wood. 

In Jan., 1858, Wm. Turner Coggeshall, State Librarian, 
became, by appointment, editor of the Journal, and con- 
tinued as such .for two years. The Association had con- 
tracted with FoUett, Foster & Co., to publish the Journal, 
relieving it from all pecuniary liability. No associate edi- 
tors were appointed. 

The "Ohio Journal of Education" appeared under a new 
name in 1860, it having become the property of F.' W. 
Hurtt & Co. The following Avas the title page of I860: 
" The Ohio Educational Monthly, (successor to the Ohio 
Journal of Education.) A Journal of School and Home 
Education. Old Series, Vol. IX. New Series, Vol. I. Offi- 
cial Organ of the Ohio State Teachers' Association, Colum- 
bus. Edited and Published by F. W. Hurtt & Co., 1860. " 

In May, 1861, E. E. White & Co., that is, E. E. White and 
the Hon. Anson Smyth, succeeded F. W. Hurtt & Co., as 
editors and proprietors of the Monthly. Mr. Smyth re- 
mained associated with Mr. AVhite until Februar}', 1863, 
when he retired from the office of State Commissioner, after 
having served two terms, or six years. 

Mr. White continued to edit the Monthly until Septem- 



440 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

ber, 1875, when he transferred it to its present editor and 
proprietor, W. D. Henkle, who changed the place of publi- 
cation to ^alcm. Under Mr. White's editorship the Month- 
ly acquired a national reputation. In October, 1870, he 
began " The National Teacher, " which was an edition of 
the " Ohio Educational Monthly, " for circulation outside of 
Ohio. In January, 1876, the two were united by the present 
editor under the name " The Ohio Educational Monthly 
and National Teacher. " 

In February, 1865, after Mr. White had been acting as 
State School Commissioner about a year, Aug. T. Jenkins 
became publisher of the Monthly. Mr. White retained the 
editorship, with John Hancock, of Cincinnati, M. F. Cow- 
dery, of Sandusky, T. W. Harvey, of Painesville, and T. 
E. Suliot, of Kent, associate editors. Mr. White resumed 
the publication in January, 1866. 

In November, 1854, a mathematical department was 
started in the "Ohio Journal of Education," under the 
editorship of Dr. Joseph Ray. His name appeared last at 
the head of this department in the June issue of 1855. After 
the death of Dr. Ray, F. W. Hurtt, who was then his assis- 
tant in the Woodward High School, edited this department 
until he was succeeded, in February, 1857, by Prof. W. H. 
Young, of Ohio University. This department was discon- 
tinued in 1858 and 1859, but was resumed in March, 1860, 
in the "Ohio Educational Monthly," and in April, 1860, 
W. D. Henkle, of Lebanon, became the editor, and con- 
tinued the editorship until May, 1861. At that time the 
department was discontinued and has not since been re- 
sumed. 

The "Journal of Progress, in Education, Social and Poli- 
tical Economy, and the Useful Arts, " was begun in Cincin- 
nati, January 1, 1860, with Elias Longley as publisher and 
general editor. John Hancock, of Cincinnati, edited the 
the educational department. A portion of the periodical 
was printed in phonotypy. 



EDUCATIONAL PERIODICALS. 441 

A mathematical department, under the editorship of W. D. 
Henkle, was begun January 1, 1861. In consequence of the 
pecuniary effect of tlie war on the publishing interest, the 
" Journal of Progress " closed its career with the issue of 
August, 18G1. In September an extra of four pages was 
issued announcing that the subscription list had been trans- 
ferred to the " Ohio Educational Monthly. " 

The " News and Educator" was published in Cincinnati 
in 1864-5-6. Richard Nelson and John Hancock were an- 
nounced as editors, and Nelson & Co., as publishers. In 
January, 1867, the name of this periodical was changed to 
that of "The Educational Times: An American Monthly 
Magazine of Literature and Education. " Mr. Hancock 
edited the first number, and introduced it with his valedic- 
tory. It was published for the proprietors by R. W. Carroll 
& Co. The writer does not know how long it Avas continued. 
It doubtless died a peaceful death, not for lack of editorial 
ability, but for want of adequate pecuniary support. 

"The National Normal" was started in Cincinnati in 
October, 1868. In October, 1869, R. H. Holbrook was an- 
nounced as editor, and Sarah Porter as assistant. The 
names of the editors had not previously been given. It was 
published in Cincinnati, at first b}^ Josiah Holbrook and 
afterwards by George E. Stevens & Co., until October, 1874, 
Avhen the subscription list was transferred to the " National 
Teacher." 

" The Normal School Visitor, " edited and published by 
J. Fraise Richard, at Fostoria, was begun in Januar}', 1875, 
and after nine months was transferred to J. J. Frazier, of 
the same place, who continued it under the name of the 
" Common School Visitor. " 

" Educational Notes and Queries, " edited and published 
by W. D. Henkle, in Salem, was started in 1875. Before the 
close of the year it had secured subscribers in thirty-five 
states and territories. 
29 



442 EDUCATION IN OHIO. 

In this sketch of educational periodicals it has not been 
found practicable to include the many college and school 
periodicals which have been published from time to time in 
the State, such as the "Public School Advocate and High 
School Magazine," Columbus, 1851; "The Pantagraj)h, " 
Xenia, 1870; "The Educational Advance," begun at Ada, 
in April, 1873; "The Wittenberger," "The Denison Colle- 
gian, " " The College Mirror, " " The Oberlin Review, " " The 
Otterbein Dial," "The College Olio," "The Philomathean 
Argus, " "The Mute's Chronicle," "The Literary Advance," 
"The Normal," and "The School and Home." 



APPENDIX 



STATISTICAL TABLES. 



STATISTICAL TABLES. 



445 



TABLE I. — Showing the Reported Number op Schools in the 
State, from 1837 to 1875. 





■-+3 

O 
o 

6 
?5 


O 

C . 

P^ 

O CD 
„^ 

oa 

O ^H 

62 
54 
65 
14 

45 
53 
45 
45 
52 
55 
56 
57 
SO 
79 
81 
70 
70 
77 
81 
85 
87 
88 
87 
88 
88 
87 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 




Number of sc 


lools. 




Date. 




c 

o 
O 


PI 

o 

o 


O 


1i 
o 
H 


1837 


75 
76 
76 

79 
79 
79 
79 
79 
81 
S3 
83 
85 
89 
87 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 
88 










4.336 


1838 










4,030 
7,295 


1839 










1840 ... . 










1841 










3,181 


1842 










3,627 
4,284 


1843 










1844 










3,321 

5,385 


1845 .A 










1846 










4,332 


1847 








4,882 

5,062 

11,075 

12,279 


1848 










1849 










1850 










1851 










12,664 


1852 








9,916 


1853 










5,894 
10,572 
12,246 


1854 

1855 


57 
9L 
97 
113 
139 
151 
161 
167 
144 
175 
149 
143 
141 
151 
155 
198 
383 
310 
363 
350 
412 
450 


10,451 
12,012 
11,076 
12,078 
12,224 
11,338 
13,192 
13,479 
14,728 
14,233 
11,661 
11,419 
11,413 
11,373 
11,405 
11,257 
13,568 
13,876 
13,838 
14,193 
14,356 
14,418 


16 

55 
58 
55 

110 
53 
'"2 
85 

108 
80 
39 
37 
35 
33 
34 
55 


48 
88 
88 
93 
129 
131 
159 
168 
172 
167 
145 
143 
157 
182 
189 
204 


1856..: 


11,319 


1857 

1858 


12,339 
12,602 


1859 

1860 


11,673 
13,584 


1861 


13,899 


1862 


15,152 


1863 


14,661 


1864 


11,994 
11,742 


1865 


1866 


11,746 


1867 


11,739 


1868 


11,783 


1869 


11,714 
«-l 3,951 
14,186 
14,201 
14,543 
14,768 


1870 


1871 






1872 






1873 







1874 


1875 






14,868 











* In this year and in subsequent years, the comnioii sohools of the State are classified 
as primary and high scliools. 



44{; 



EDUTATIOX IN OHIO. 



TABLE IT. — Suowixci the Enimeratiox and Exroi.i.mext, fkom 

18.37 TO 1875. 





Enx'meration.® 


EXROLLMEXT. 


Date. 




X 








'« 
g 


18.37 ... 






468,812 
588,590 


76,975 
57,539 


69,465 
51,467 


146,440 


1838 ... 






109,006 
254,()12 


1839 






1840 ... 






618,746 






1841 . . 






76,047 

5,544 

24,239 

25,698 

10,794 

19,834 

33,232 

50,211 

213,738 

236,827 

238,571 

240,152 


61,823 

3,967 

20,503 

23,172 

8,520 

15,029 

30,626 

44,419 

153,870 

184,906 

207,426 

197,560 


137 870 


1842 ... 








9,511 


1843 ... 








44 742 


1844 ... 








48,870 
19,314 
34,863 
63 858 


1845 ... 






712,152 
728,6,38 
754,193 


1846 ... 






1847 ... 






1848 ... 




94 630 


1849 ... 






796,109 

810,163 

828,853 

838,669 

811,957 

816,408 

820,624 

810,166 

838,037 

843,227 

865,914 

892,8-14 

912,960 

920,890 

919,874 

938,972 

944,852 

974,303 

995,250 

1,019,192 

1,028,877 

1,041,680 

1,058,048 

1,073,274 

991,708 

985,947 

1,017,726 


367,608 
421 ,733 


18-50 ... 






1851 ... 






445,997 
437,712 


1852 ... 







1853 ... 






1854 ... 






191,956 

294,888 
299,226 
320,386 
328,625 
.322,253 
363,598 
381,153 
378,522 
383,770 
353,541 
359,121 
381,452 
368,841 
383,760 
388,979 
380,655 
383,722 
370,719 
368,890 
371,204 
375,436 


166,461 
257,051 
262,089 
282,961 
283,095 
277,781 
321,579 
336,573 
346.147 
366,643 
341,379 
343,431 
347,538 
335,926 
348,012 
351,403 
344,241 
348,400 
338,081 
335,128 
.336,739 
336,693 


358,417 
551,9.39 
501,315 
603,347 
611,720 
600,034 
685,177 
717,726 
724,6(59 
750,413 
694,920 
602.552 
728,990 
704,767 
731,772 
740,382 
724,896 
732 122 
708^800 
704,018 
707,943 
712,129 


1855 ... 

1856 ... 
.1857 ... 

1858 ... 

1859 ... 

1860 .. 

1861 ... 

1862 ... 

1863 ... 

1864 ... 

1865 ... 

1866 ... 

1867 ... 

1868 ... 

1869 ... 
1870... 

1871 ... 

1872 ... 

1873 ... 

1874 ... 

1875 ... 


422,0()7 
416,339 
424,065 
431,745 
444,468 
457,708 
467,007 
471,287 
464,974 
474,061 
476,214 
494,809 
506,484 
519,619 
525,605 
530,509 
539,511 
546,051 
506,506 
505,001 
522,418 


398,557 
393,827 
413,972 
411,482 
421,446 
435,136 
445,953 
449,603 
454,900 
404,911 
468,638 
479,494 
488,766 
499,573 
503,272 
511,171 
518,537 
526,223 
485,202 
480,946 
495,308 



*Until 1853 the school age was 4-21. From 1853 until the passage of the new schoc.l 
law, in 1873, the school age was 5-21 . The present school Jaw makes 6-21 the legal school 
age. Since the passage of the act of 1873 the enumeration lia.s heen taken under oath. 



STATISTICAL TABLES. 



447 



TABLE III.— Siiowixci the Daily Attendance, the Number op 
Weeks the Schools were in Session, and the Number and 
Cost of School-Houses Built, from 1837 to 1875. 





Daily attendance. 


Average number 
weeks common 
schools were in 
session. 


o . 


0:75 


Date. 




o 




1^ 

6 


1837 ... 








20.44 
16.64 
16.00 


4,378 
393 
735 


$513,973 

65,732 

148,959 


1838 ... 

1839 ... 


40,179 


33,126 


73,305 


1840 ... 








184L ... 

1842 ... 

1843 ... 
1844... 

1845 ... 

1846 ... 

1847 ... 

1848 ... 

1849 ... 
18.50... 

1851 ... 

1852 ... 

1853 ... 


29,-593 

36,213 

44,226 

33,518 

49,166 

43,714 

44,257 

50,442 

173,240 

190,891 

203,487 

144,982 


21,921 

25,217 

30,581 

22,999 

35,310 

35,03(5 

34,606 

40,2-54 

145,316 

146,984 

159,760 

121,285 


51,514 
61 ,430 

74,807 

56,517 

84,476 

78,750 

78,8()3 

90,696 

318,556 

337,875 

363,247 

266,267 


13.32 
13.48 
12.48 
13.40 
12.64 
14.16 
22.24 
12144 
14.56 
14.04 
17.72 
10.40 


123 
153 
125 
115 
194 
164 
175 
153 
158 
248 
300 
171 


21,722 
25,831 
14,930 
17,217 
42,127 
27,325 
35,866 
39,727 
36,443 
64,823 
109,304 
61,837 


1854 ... 

1855 ... 
18,56 ... 

1857 ... 

1858 ... 
18.59 ... 

1860 ... 

1861 ... 

1862 ... 

1863 ... 

1864 ... 

1865 ... 

1866 ... 

1867 ... 

1868 ... 

1869 ... 

1870 ... 

1871 ... 

1872 ... 

1873 ... 

1874 ... 

1875 ... 


150,529 
170,545 

171,877 
187,951 
189,037 
188,182 
215,620 
225,902 
224,451 
223,802 
199,447 
197,941 
215,231 
205,908 
214,312 
227,054 
232,8.58 
223,470 
210,818 
210,551 
221,-522 
225,431 


126,667 
145,306 
150,706 
162,912 
163,108 
162,217 
189,972 
199,181 
208,891 
216,924 
196,809 
193,608 
199,911 
191,578 
196,409 
207,811 
213,289 
208,982 
197,720 
197,366 
208,108 
209,918 


277,196 
315,851 
322,643 
3,50,867 
352,145 
350,399 
405,592 
425,08;', 
433,342 
440,726 
396,256 
391,549 
415,142 
397,486 
410,721 
434,865 
446,147 
432,452 
408,5.38 
407,917 
429,630 
435,349 


23.92 
22.-50 
24.60 
24.60 
25.40 
25.20 
24.80 
25.20 
24.60 
24.40 
2.5.15 
25.78 
27.29 
27.33 
27.81 
80.19 
31.16 
33.00 
30.92 
27.97 
29.00 
28.00 


770 
740 
627 
570 
589 
475 
446 
454 
373 
229 
227 
237 
292 
549 
035 
664 
645 
578 
566 
542 
579 
544 


346,944 

438,602 

374,547 

293,040 

391,305 

282,443 

341,273 

435,368 

243,433 

186,808 

186,304 

227,213 

274,505 

9-55,792 

1,178,561 

1,874,118 

1,391,597 

1,025,077 

893,422 

1,008,786 

1,164,104 

1,010,786 



448 



EDUCATION IN OHIO. 



TABLE IV. — Showing the Number of Teachers Employed in 
THE Common and High Schools, from 1837 to 1875. 





Hi 


gh. 


Common. 


Totals. 


Is 


Date. 


6 




-2 




6 


p2 


o 

6 


1837 .. . 










4,757 
2,677 


3,205 
1,728 


7,962 


1838 










4,403 


1839 










7,288 


1840 
















1841 










1,746 
5,409 
2,693 
2,210 
3,224 
2,581 
2,829 
2,799 
8,005 
7,924 
8,350 
7,272 


1,400 
1,461 
1,573 
1,179 
2.095 
1,988 
2,577 
2,412 
4,374 
5,168 
5,706 
5,292 


3,146 


1842 








6,870 


1843 . ... 










4,266 


1844 










3,389 


]845 










5,319 


1846 










4,569 


1847 










5,406 


1848 










5,211 


J 849 










12,379 


1850 










13,092 


1851 










14,056 


185*^. 










12,564 


1 853 












1854 










7,540 

11,202 

9,449 

10,117 

10,541 

10,321 

10.785 

10,963 

10.373 

8,612 

7,832 

6,656 

7,787 

8,348 

8,854 

9,171 

9,402 

9,563 

9,718 

9,787 

9,911 

10,186 


6,476 

9,974 

8,364 

8,577 

9,513 

9,037 

9,693 

10,169 

10,751 

12,452 

12,826 

13,672 

13,447 

13,220 

12,738 

12,455 

12,436 

12,544 

12,343 

12,110 

12,464 

12,306 


14,01() 


1855 

1856 


115 
102 
120 
170 
157 
189 
187 
179 
183 
180 
140 
192 
188 
174 
188 
261 
310 
300 
305 
355 
427 


81 

78 

83 

93 

106 

130 

115 

90 

113 

132 

87 

102 

153 

132 

147 

181 

190 

188 

193 

356 

214 


1 1 ,087 

9,347 

9,997 

10,371 

10,164 

10,596 

10,776 

10,194 

8,429 

7,652 

6,516 

7,595 

8,160 

8,680 

8,983 

9,141 

9,253 

9,418 

9,484 

9,556 

9,759 


9,893 

8,286 

8,494 

9,420 

9,931 

9,563 

10,054 

10,661 

12,339 

12,694 

13.585 

13,345 

13,067 

12,606 

12,308 

12,255 

12,354 

12,155 

11,917 

12,108 

12,092 


21,176 
17,813 


1857 


18,694 


185S 


20,054 


1859 


19,358 


I860 


20,478 


1861 


21,132 


1862 


21,124 


1863 


21.064 


1864 


20,658 


1865 


20,328 


1866 


21,234 


1867 


21,568 


1868 


21,592 


1869 


21,626 


1870 


21,838 


1371 


22,107 


1872 


22,061 


1873 


21,899 


1874 


22,375 


1875 


22,492 







STATISTICAL TABLES. 



449 



TABLE V. — Showing the Average Moxtht.y Salaries of Teachers, 
AND THE Whole Amount Paid Teachers, from 1837 to 187"i. 





Average monthly 


salary of 












teachers. 




Amount paid tc; 


clicrs. 




High. 1 


Common. 




Date. 








1 










i 


Zi 






3^ 




^ 








"3 


i) 




rt 


v; 


:i 


— 








■A 




33 


s 


'.1^ 


H 


1837 . 




1 
1 




i 




$286,757 


1838... 











$154,284 


$46,272 


200,556 


1839... 




\ 






392,091 


1840... 














1841... 










94,627 ' 
301,200 
144,631 
112,220 
158 792 
138.237 
160^102 
141,967 
435,807 
493,691 
510,503 


29,809 

30,460 

31,890 

24,482 

45,616 

55,504 

62,736 

44,814 

113,302 

138,428 

175,590 


124,436 


1842... 










331,660 


1843... 










176,521 


1844 .. 










136,702 


1845... 










204,408 


1846... 










193,741 


1847... 










222,838 


1848... 










186,781 


1849... 










549,109 


1850 . 








632,119 


18.51... i 









686,093 


1852...' 








599,187 


172,958 


772,145 


1853... 












18.54... 


,$58 00 


$28 50 


$23 00 


si 3 bo 


565,026 


289,276 


854,302 


1855... 


61 .35 


30 60 


25 


02 


14 20 


923,280 


469.941 


1,393,221 


185(i... 


57 30 


30 63 


26 


70 


15 63 


1,023,212 


531,195 


1,554,407 


1857... 


1 61 10 


33 34 


27 


71 


16 22 


1,181,819 


598.157 


1,779,976 


18.58... 


! 61 81 


32 82 


27 


89 


12 95 


1,304,038 


691,737 


1,995,775 


1859... 


66 52 


33 85 


27 


82 


16 29 


1,270,573 


670,983 


1,941.556 


18()0... 


62 27 


34 00 


27 


81 


16 25 


1,317,694 


728,367 


2,046,0(.l 


1861... 


61 12 


34 08 


27 


81 


16 05 


1,320,260 


753,544 


2,073,804 


1S62... 


58 34 


34 04 


26 


35 


'15 32 


1,155,903 


744,975 


1,900,878 


1863... 


60 08 


31 91 


25 


73 


15 41 


1,011,853 


869,013 


1 ,880,868 


1864... 


62 87 


34 81 


28 


25 


17 95 
2f 55 


1,956,920 


130,960 


*2,087,880 


1865... 


73 31 


41 97 


36 


25 


2,361,730 


1.39,781 


2,501,511 


1866... 


80 12 


46 52 


37 


51 


23 05 


2,719,137 


142,469 


2,861,606 


1867.. 


87 10 


43 97 


38 


52 


23 80 


8,018,079 


177.149 


3,195,228 


1868.. 


92 41 


49 97 


39 


86 


24 75 


3,178,537 


209,364 


3,387,901 


1869.. 


, 92 28 


48 62 


40 


47 


26 03 


3,440,762 


231,143 


3,671,905 


1870.. 


91 11 


55 57 


38 


70 


27 89 


3,642,456 


264,811 


3.907,267 


1871.. 


' 91 84 


58 00 


41 


28 


26 07 


3,790,222 


317,573 


4,107,795 


1872.. 


1 80 15 


55 86 


41 


64 


28 79 


3,898,156 


321,407 


4,219,563 


1873.. 


82 99 


56 12 


40 


61 


29 45' 


3,950,610 


355,192 


4,305,802 


1874.. 


82 19 


59 00 


41 


82 


29 32 


4,206,398 


408.101 


4,614,499 


1875.. 


72 00 


' 57 00 


47 


00 


31 00 


4,138,371 


469,592 


4,787,963 



"In this year and in subsequent vears, ins'tead of " Male " and " Female, " read " Pri- 
marv" and "High." Thus, for"the year 1SG4, Primary, $1,956.'J'20 ; High, «;]30,S'(iO; 



Total, $2,087,880, 



^S'' 



